


In The Woods...

by ThroughPestilencesAndFamines



Category: Ghost (Swedish Band), Magna Carta Cartel (Band), Priest (Swedish Band), Repugnant (Swedish Band), TID (Swedish Band), The Great Discord (Swedish Band)
Genre: A lot of supernatural stuff, Demons, Ghouls, Hell, Horror Movie Inspired, Kinky Demons, M/M, Parrots, Pineapples!!!, Slow Burn, Threesome - M/M/M, Trans Character, Vampires, Witches and Wizards, Zombies, and lots of sex, black magic, dark shit, lots of guest appearances, plenty of Ghost related bands, plot heavy, very smutty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-08-23 11:21:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 75
Words: 130,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8325811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThroughPestilencesAndFamines/pseuds/ThroughPestilencesAndFamines
Summary: Imagine: You come across these old maps... You discover something that shouldn't be there... But can't let it go... Of course, you search for it... And indeed: Something is hidden deep inside the woods...





	1. As the Woods get denser...

I sighed. Damn, night fell early out here. Earlier than I had expected. And the darker it got the dumber my idea seemed to become. Still, I kept on walking through the woods that seemed to get denser the longer I walked. Don’t ask me why!

A few days ago, I, just by accident, had come across these collection of old maps in the city library of Linköping. Fascinating things as they were, I had stared at them for hour until suddenly something caught my attention: a secluded church deep inside one of the many forests around the city – why would anybody build a church there?

For the next few hours, I was busy comparing the map with others. On newer ones the church was nowhere to be found. Uncharted, as if it never existed! So I asked the librarian if there were any other maps or official records in the archives that weren’t open for the public. She came back with an even older map. This time, there was also a cemetery. Besides that, she hadn’t found anything. I copied the two maps and drove home.

Soon after I had fixed myself dinner, I got on the internet. Google Maps showed nothing but woods. Hours of search later, I came across a page where people shared their photographs and impressions of lost and deserted places. There was this anonymous guy rambling about this spot he had tried to find in the forests around Linköping. Having grown up in the area, his grandfather had told him stories about this place in the woods that was allegedly haunted. He had tried to find it but never succeeded. Since the account had long been deleted, there was no way to contact the guy. 

A few of my friends, after showing them the maps, suggested that it was probably a mistake or that the building was gone by now. Bollocks was the other. And they asked me if I had watched too many horror movies lately. Embarrassed, I tried to let go of the church thing but somehow it always popped up in my head. So, on one of my rare free days, I packed my backpack and headed for a parking area close to the particular woods. I hadn’t dared to ask a friend to join me on this time wasting trip. They would only call me crazy again and question my sanity. 

But I had miscalculated myself. On paper, the route had looked much shorter. Originally, I should have been there more than two hours ago but there were still a few kilometres ahead of me. At least I knew that I was heading in the right direction as I had passed a remarkable confluence of rivers that was also marked in the maps. 

Some parts of me just wanted to turn around but I was already here and not too far away from my destination. Plus: I had enough stuff with me for a possible night in the woods. So I kept on walking despite the increasing darkening. Soon, I had to get out an electric torch. I few hundred metres ahead, I realized that not only the sun was setting at high speed but the woods were also getting denser and denser thus blocking most of the light from touching the ground.

Soon, I was walking in darkness that was only broken by the light in my hand. The darkness and the thickening woods were disturbing enough by themselves but the utter silence was something entirely different. There was simply no noise. Nothing! The silence sent chills through my body. My hair stood on edge. A normal person would have turned around. Call me stupid but I really wanted to find that place.

And the trees got closer and the air thicker. Meanwhile, I got more desperate and my idea seemed to become dumber by the second. I promised myself to turn around if I hadn’t found anything within the next ten minutes. 

Some time passed and I checked my watch. Ten minutes had already passed. Time to turn around. But before, I had to get some water down. Before making my way back, I decided to look around once more. My light flashed through the trees. Suddenly I stopped. My light had illuminated something that definitely wasn’t wooden for a change. I approached and examined the lithic thing closely. Some lines were carved in the stone but time had made them unreadable. 

Then I remembered the map the librarian had shown me. That stone probably belonged to the cemetery. I must be very close now. So I did not turn around. On my way, I looked out for more gravestones and indeed found some scattered along my way. The longer I walked the more I spotted while the density of the trees still increased. At some point, less than a metre parted one tree from another. Oppressive and bleak were the right words to describe this situation. 

And I was the idiot that still didn’t turn around. Curiosity had once more won over reason. I just wanted to find that damn church, take some pictures of the ruins, turn around and leave as fast as possible.

Moments later, I slammed into something solid. Another rather large gravestone had caught my attention and the light while still walking. My lack of care was rewarded immediately. After the stars had slowly faded away, I inspected the object I had crashed into: it was an old, massive looking ebon door. I was finally there!

My light flashed around. The building definitely was old. But the church was far from being a ruin. It actually looked pretty well in shape regarding its age. The windows weren’t broken. No debris on the ground. I wondered why nobody had come across it earlier and why it didn’t show anywhere. I fetched the camera out of my bag and pushed the on-button. Nothing! I must have forgotten to charge it. Idiot!

Taking pictures with my phone didn’t work either! I just couldn’t turn on the damn thing. Something was extremely odd about this place! I had found the church. I had proven myself and succeeded. Time to leave!

SQUEAK

I jumped! 

I had just taken a few steps when I heard this noise. It was the first sound in ages that hadn’t been caused by me in this dead silent woods. I turned around once again looking at the building. I was just about to run away when I heard another creak and froze. This time, I was sure the noise came out of the building. Then I heard this voice inside of my head:

“Come inside!”

And I couldn’t refuse!


	2. The Inside...

My feet moved automatically. Like something had gained control over my muscles. Without my consent, my body made its way back towards the big old ebon door. When only a few meters parted me from the church’s entrance, the door swung open. But I couldn’t see anybody. After I had crossed the door still, I heard a loud noise from behind me.

The door had closed again. And with the sound I regained control over my body. I turned around and tried to open it again. Fanatically, I slammed my body into the door while pushing down its handles. Nothing! It remained solid like a wall. 

I was trapped! In the middle of these damn spooky woods in a building that shouldn’t exist! Lucky me!

Luckily, I hadn’t forgotten my light. At least I could see. At least as long as the batteries weren’t empty. 

I pressed my back against the wooden door and took a few deep breaths. As the oxygen rushed through my body, I slowly calmed down. Or at least until my thoughts cleared. 

Maybe there was somebody here. 

And maybe there was another way to get out of this thing!

Staying at this spot with a solid locked door in the back didn’t make any sense. My light moved around. The building was way bigger than it had appeared from the outside. And clearly no signs or odours of decay were visible. No holes in the walls nor in the roof. Everything looked pretty well maintained. Even the furniture. Rows of banks were lined up in front of the altar. As I made my way through the hall passing the rows of banks, my light moved over the walls. No doors! Not even in the wings of the building. Only a massive organ in the left one and a richly decorated baptismal font to the right. 

Then my light slowly moved over the alter. Besides a few burnt down incense sticks and a cross it was empty. Wait… 

That wasn’t a normal cross. Only at second glance I realized it was inverted. And an incomplete ellipsis framed its axis with a slight opening at the upper right horizontal branch. And again, a normal person wouldn’t be too happy to spot signs of Satanism. Stuff like that didn’t scare me too much. But self-closing doors of non-existing churches deep inside the woods obviously did.

Maybe there was a reason why this place wasn’t supposed to be found.

I moved behind the altar and finally spotted a door. 

And it wasn’t locked!

In there wasn’t too much either. Only a few hooks on the wall and a shelf with equal books in a writing I couldn’t decipher. Well, and another door. 

This time, it led me into a room that vaguely reminded me of a kitchen. At least if you lived in the year 1900. The fire place appeared to have been long deserted while most utensils seemed to be unused. My eyes flashed around. Two more doors!

The first one was locked. 

The second revealed stairs leading downwards. Many churches back in the day had secret exits. Maybe this was one of them. Downstairs I found myself on an unpaved corridor flanked with six more doors. Everyone had a different symbol etched into their ebon wood. And all were equally locked. 

I continued my way. Soon, I found myself in big room that must be located directly under the main hall of the building. Massive marble-like pillars supported the structure arranged in a big circle. But no doors. This was a dead end!

My light flashed over the ground consisting of trodden-in dirt. I spotted a large pentagram on the ground made out of something that seemed to be black wax. Burnt down candles marked the edges. More was inside of it. A closer look revealed a live-sized painting of a person. Five daggers in the formation of an inverted cross had been inserted into the paper to keep it at place. 

The painting actually was pretty detailed. I was just inspecting the dagger that had been put through the forehead of the depicted person when something else caught my attention.

Those eyes looked a lot like mine!

Moments later I was sure: That was a painting of me! I was so screwed!

Then, I felt the air moving. And heard steps behind those pillars. Somebody was here!

I made a quick gateway! Seconds later, I stormed the stairs up again. The second door in the kitchen was still locked. 

Back in the main hall! I heard fast steps behind me. While still running I turned around. Nobody there! I almost fell to the ground! I gave my best to open the big ebon door. It didn’t move a bit! I couldn’t get out! Fuck!

An icy hand on my shoulder made me jump and screak. But there wasn’t a hand. Nothing was there. I ran. Again pacing the rows of banks. The steps were now everywhere. Still no one was in sight. Then, I trapped and fell. My body slammed hard on the ground. Almost knocking me out. The steps were getting closer. My light flashed around in panic only to meet empty air. Suddenly, everything got dark. The batteries must have been empty. Then I heard a cold laughter. But it was in my head! Like the voice before. Coming here was the stupidest idea I had ever had!

The ghostly activities got wilder by the seconds. More and more pairs of invisible feet circled me and the voices in my head got shriller and more threatening the longer I lay there. I closed my eyes and tried to block out everything the best I could. It didn’t work. The longer this went on, the more I felt my mind drifting towards sheer utter madness. 

“Stop it! Get out of his damn head, you idiots! You wouldn’t want to turn our first visitor in years into a brainless vegetable!”, I heard a raspy rather angry voice scream. The spook stopped immediately. Regarding the volume, whoever had spoken must be very close. 

My shaking fingers moved over the electric torch. Somehow it came back to life illuminating two pairs of black shoes only centimetres away from me. My eyes moved up. I wanted to scream. But no sounds wanted to escape my mouth.

Two gigantic black hooded guises dressed in cassocks were standing in front me. 

That was too much for me. I simply passed out…


	3. The never-ending Darkness…

I opened my eyes. Darkness. I couldn’t see a damn thing. Everything around me was pitch black. I hoped that this was a bad dream. But I was pretty sure it wasn’t. This was real. I was still inside the woods in a haunted church that shouldn’t exist. And something had just scared the shit out of me. 

I remained motionless. If there were psychos around and they hadn’t sacrificed or killed me yet, it might be for the better to not attract any attention. At least they hadn’t rammed knives in my body. Seeing that paper replica with knives in the shape of an inverted cross had set the imaginations going. And they were going wild!

So far, nothing, if you exclude the spook, had happened to me. But only so far. And I couldn’t see a thing!

I lay on a relatively soft ground. My hands were empty. My light was gone. My hands groped around trying to cause no sounds. One hand finally found a wall while the other still moved around slowly…

“Hey, are you fine?”

I jumped. 

My mind rushed! As did my heart! Adrenaline was everywhere!

The raspy voice, I had heard earlier, had spoken again. They were here! I put one and one together: Wasn’t it very likely that the two gigantic black hooded guises were responsible for the knives in my paper replica! And what would stop them from ramming them through real flesh and blood for a change?

As fast as I could, I pressed my back against the wall. I waited for the attack. 

One second more nerve-wrecking than the other. 

Still, nothing happened!

 

Then, after what felt like an eternity…

The raspy voice spoke again: “You don’t need to fear us! We won’t harm you!”

I did not believe that! I simply stayed in my defence position and waited.

Suddenly, another voice spoke in a tongue mainly consisting of sibilants I couldn’t understand. The raspy voice replied in the same manner. Unintelligible words were exchanged back and forth. It sounded scary. Almost like snakes. But no matter how they were communicating, the content was what mattered. Maybe, they were even discussing how to sacrifice me or something like that…

A flame ripped me out of my thoughts.

Well, it wasn’t a normal flame by any means. 

The right hand of one of the hooded guises was on fire. Illuminating the room in a grotesque way. 

With eyes wide open, my gaze followed the guise, as he made its way through the small room. With the other, non-burning hand he picked up a candle on a table close to the bed I was sitting on. Soon, more than a dozen of candles illuminated the room while the guise returned to its companions’ side. He casually waved his hand the flames were gone. 

I simply stared at the identical gigantic black hooded guises as they were standing motionless side by side. 

They actually weren’t 100 percent identical. The one that had ignited the candles was of a slightly smaller frame and a bit shorter than his companion. The other was a bit bulkier and had his hands locked behind his back. Both were eying me. But I couldn’t see their eyes as they were hidden behind the shadows of their masquerades. 

Sacrificing me in candlelight might be a bit funnier than just doing it in the dark. 

“We’re not going to sacrifice you!”, the raspy voice, belonging to the taller bulkier guise, said, “and by the way, even if we would ever do something like that: doing it in candlelight instead of pure darkness wouldn’t change a thing.”

It was like they had heard my thoughts…

“My companions just reminded me that humans can’t see in the dark. It must have slipped my mind. We just thought everything would be a bit more pleasant for you if you could see us.”

My brows moved up…

I was confused…


	4. A Light In The Dark...

What were they? But more important: Were these creatures just kind or tricking me? But why did they hunt, scare and fuck with my head in the first place?

“That actually wasn’t us”, the raspy voice continued pointing towards himself and his slightly smaller companion, “that were our brothers. They were supposed to welcome you, while we were downstairs guiding you in our direction. But they can be a bit immature from time to time. Obviously, they thought it would be funny to do the things they’ve done. Don’t worry about them. We locked them away.”

There were more of them?

“Yeah, there are five of us.”

Before my mind could form any more thoughts, the smaller guise started to speak to his college in the snake-like tongue again. The other one only nodded his head. If they didn’t want to scare me, why didn’t they communicate in a way I could understand them?

“Sorry”, the raspy voice moved on, “but Alphas Swedish is just very, very rusty.”

Without a warning, the taller guise moved forward. I cringed. But instead of strangling me, the tall guise only presented me with one of his large hands: “I just want to introduce myself properly. Nothing more! Isn’t that what humans do when they first meet?”

I nodded my head.

“Well, I’m Omega!”

I eyed the still waiting hand. Beside their sheer size, the only thing extraordinary about it was a big silver ring on the ring finger. I spotted one on the other hand as well.

Maybe I could risk this. I grabbed the hand and shook it. It was a firm yet extremely cold handshake.

I looked at my opposite and the first words escaped my mouth: “Man, your hand is icy as hell!”

The two guises started to laugh. The tall one let go of my hand that felt like having spent too much time in a freezer. I rubbed it against one of my legs in an attempt to get it up to a bearable temperature again.

The tall guise, Omega, chuckled: “And you’ve finally said something. Is the ice between us broken now? Can we finally stop reading your mind? Usually, we would never do that without your permission but you just wouldn’t talk. Sorry, for the cold hand. Just wait ‘til you shake his.”

The other one stepped forward and with a bit of scepticism, I grabbed his hand that was marked with some sort of a half-broken heart and a rather filigree ring with a ruby.

To my surprise, his hand was more than pleasantly warm. I sighed and got lost in the warmth. Then the guise introduced himself: “Hi, I’m Alpha. Nice to meet you!”

Even though these were only a handful of words, it was very hard to decipher them. His Swedish really was rusty. Then he let go of my hand.

Until now, they hadn’t done anything bad to me and had been rather open. I cleared my throat, as it was now my turn to introduce myself: “Hi, I’m…”

But I was interrupted by Omega: “We already know who you are.”

“Did you take a look at my papers?”

He chuckled before sitting down on a pair of chairs I hadn’t noticed before: “No, we didn’t touch your belongings. We just…”

Again, he was interrupted by Alpha who had taken the chair on his right side talking to him in their tongue.

“All right!”, Omega said after Alpha had finished, “before we come to the important stuff, Alpha here would like to ask you something. He found this thing in your hand and is curious what it is.”

Alpha fetched something out of the depths of his cassock and presented me with a familiar object – my electric torch.

“What… is… this?”, he asked me in very broken Swedish.

“Really, you don’t know what that is?”

Both shook their hands.

I cleared my throat: “Well, where have you been?”

Omega chuckled: “We’ve been here for the last 160 years!”

“What?”

 

“Before we tell you this rather long story, would you please be so kind and explain to dear Alpha, what that object is. He tends to be very impatient from time to time. He only picked it up after you passed out. We didn’t want to be rude. These are your things. Not ours”, with that, Omega handed me my bag.

I looked over to Alpha who was still holding the electric torch.

“Hey, just push that button on the side. Hopefully, the batteries aren’t empty.”

Alpha looked at me.

“Nothing is going to blow up if you push that button. It’s only a light. We humans use it to see in the dark.”

So, he pushed the button. Surprisingly, there was still some energy left and the thing started to illuminate the room. Excited like a child, Alpha moved the light around and started to giggle. Eventually, the light ended up in Omegas eyes. For a moment, I saw the biggest bluest eyes I had ever seen. Then, Omega squinted and tried to shield himself from the bright light: “Alpha, get that thing out of my face. You’re blinding me!”

Alpha hesitated and mumbled something in the tongue I couldn’t understand.

Omega now pushed the electric torch out of his face and replied in a rather angry voice: “Blind yourself for a change if you don’t believe in me!”

Alpha shrugged his shoulders and seconds later, another pair of blue eyes was illuminated. But in contrast to Omegas, these were rather icy and cold. He couldn’t stand the light for long and began with what sounded like cursing.

“I told you that this thing is nasty! Stop whining, Alpha!” said Omega only shaking his head. He then looked at me: “How the hell did humans manage to catch and store light in these little objects? Or are they filled with fire?”

I laughed: “No, it’s neither. There is this little container in there we call a battery. A battery is filled with chemicals. The reaction of these chemicals produces energy. This energy is sent through a small wire that starts to glow thus causing the light. I’m no expert. Just a keen user. But in this case, the battery is almost empty. That’s why the light is flickering. It should be out soon.”

And indeed, moments later the light was out and only candlelight illuminated the small room. Omega was still looking at me.

“I hope you understood what I was trying to say.”

Omega chuckled: “A bit. Seems like we’re a bit behind the latest inventions. But if I’m allowed to examine that thing I might get a better idea. May I?”

“Well, of course!”

Alpha handed Omega the now empty electric torch. His fingers moved over the objects. Nobody said a word. Occasionally, his two massive silver rings reflected the candlelight.

“Ha, that’s actually quite clever!”, Omega exclaimed after a while, “but the thing you call battery could last a lot longer if built differently!”

I raised an eyebrow. Before I could reply anything, the two silver rings started to glow. But not for long. Seconds later, Omega stood up and walked towards me. Handing me the electric torch, he said: “It should work again!”

With big eyes filled with disbelieve, I reaccepted the electric torch. I pushed the button and a bright light illuminated the room. Meanwhile, Omega had sat himself down again.

“How did you do that?”


	5. When you can't leave...

I had only known these two creatures for about 15 minutes, but in this short amount of time, the fear I had felt for them in the first place had been replaced by utter fascination and curiosity.

Both Alpha and Omega laughed. Then, Omega said: “Just ask! We know what question is plaguing you. You won’t offend us!”

I considered.

“We won’t be mad. We’re more than happy you’re here!”

I filled my lung with air and let out the question: “What are you?”

“Finally!”, Omega said with a chuckle in his voice, “we’re just a bunch of elemental demons that’s trapped in this damn place. Nothing more!”

“Demons?”

“Yeah, demons! You know, the apparently evil creatures, parents tell their children scary stories of.”

To underline Omegas words, Alpha imitated a ghostly sound including fitting hand gestures. 

“Well, that wasn’t nightmarish! That was rather silly!”

Omega laughed: “We have our moments!”

“Then, how did you charge my electric torch?”

“Let’s put it this way: we all have our special abilities. You already saw some of it. Alpha is just a crazy pyromaniac, while I have this thing with reshaping and moving matter. Well, and absorbing and releasing energy. Give me anything and I will figure out how it works.”

I had an idea and started to dig through my bag. I handed Omega my mobile phone: “Could you charge that up like the electric torch? The battery is empty as well.”

Seconds later, it came back to life. But when I tried to call nothing happened.

“Is this a device for communication?”, Omega asked.

“How did you know?”

“It sends and receives waves”, he said, “I could feel it. It won’t work here. Except you, since you’re a guest, nothing can leave this place. We can’t nor can any sort of signal. Nor can anybody find us. The enchanted woods lead them away. They shield us from the world. Even the light can’t enter. That’s why it’s always dark here.”

“But how did you and more importantly I end up here?”

“They killed our leader…”

“Who is they?”

“A group of demon-hunting priests hired by the church. More precisely the Vatican under Pope Gregory XVI. But they couldn’t kill us nor send us back to hell. They could only do one thing: without our leader, we were a bit… helpless since we were and still are bound to his body that’s buried under this place. Right under the pentagram you discovered. And they made use of this situation. They confined us to this old abandoned church. Spells ensure that nobody can find us.”

“But how did I get here?”

“Well, there is this one loophole: the old maps you found. They’ll lead you the way. We know when somebody has seen them but can’t do much. We can only enhance the urge to find this place and help you guiding your way.”

“You almost drove me mad in the last few weeks!”

“Sorry, but we saw a lot of potential in you. Someone made sure, the maps are very well hidden. Usually only old geography or history lecturers find these maps. And if they even arrive here, the most common phenomena are either heart attacks or they don’t want to talk with us and leave as fast as they can. And basically try to forget everything.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

“A bit of talk would be nice! But remember: nobody forces you to stay here. You’re free to go whenever you want.”


	6. Help...

“Is there any way I could help you?”

Both demons coughed almost simultaneously. I had no idea why I said those last few words. They just escaped my mouth. Without thinking.

But after I had said them, I felt that the situation in the room had changed. The smaller of the two demons, Alpha, had begun to move nervously in his chair and rapidly said something to his companion I couldn’t decipher. But he sounded rather angry. After he finished, Omega replied in the same manner. This went one for a while…

Leaving me without any kind of clue…

“Hey, I don’t want to interrupt you. But did I say something wrong?”

The two demons stopped their conversation immediately. 

“Absolutely not!”, Omega said, finally in a way I could understand, “we couldn’t wish for a better thing to hear!”

“But you sounded rather angry!”

Omega looked at Alpha and shrugged his shoulders before turning back to me: “That’s one of the traits of our language. Outsiders often mistake it. Well, it’s the language of hell. What do you expect? We’re not upset in any means. We’re euphoric. You just said the words we never thought to hear…”

I raised an eyebrow.

“That you want to help us!”, Omega continued, “that’s the first step. Since we can’t ask you, you must be the one offering it to us willingly. We never thought anyone would say these words and actually mean it. Isn’t that right, Alpha?”

Alpha nodded his head.

“And now, you owe me something!”

“What?”, I said in surprise.

“Not you!”, Omega said, “dear Alpha here owes me. As do the three locked away bad boys. We had this bet going on. We always bet on the reaction of our visitors if we ever have some. What did you bet again, Alpha? Heart attack?”

Alpha shook his head and replied in his very rusty Swedish: “That… was… Earth! Going mental… was… mine!”

“How kind of you!”, was the only thing I could say before Omega burst out into laughter. 

He must have caught my gaze: “Sorry for my laughing! It’s just…”

He stopped there. 

“I’m not offended! What is it? You made me curious!”

“I just never win! Usually, I’m rather pessimistic but when it comes to this bets, I tend to pick the most optimistic yet most unlikely option. But this time, I was right! And now, Alpha, give me my profit!”

Alpha started to dig in the depths of his cassock. Clearly with hesitation. I was eager to see what a bunch of demons would gamble or bet about. Maybe some magical bones or potions…?

Well, it was neither…

“What’s that?”

“Just some dried herbs Earth and Water grow since we have no tobacco here. Want one?”

“You smoke these?”

“Of course! What else is there to smoke around here… some dried bark? These herbs remind us a bit of the sulphur filled air down below! But I must admit, these ones aren’t as good as good old tobacco. Are you alright if I smoke? Hadn’t one in a very long time since I always lose and growing this shit is quite laborious…”

“Go ahead!”, I said while fishing for a certain box in my bag, “I’m a smoker myself. But what about these ones?”

I had finally found the box and pointed the opening towards the larger demon.

“Really? Is that tobacco?”

“Serve yourself!”

Omega finally took one cigarette out of the box in my hand. He moved it under his mask and I heard him taking a deep sniff of it in an almost prayerful manner.

“Ahh! That smells fantastic! Real fucking tobacco! Good stuff! I can’t believe it! I owe you big! How can I possibly repay you?”

“It’s just a cigarette! You owe me noth…”

“No! This thing must have been expensive regarding its quality!”

“Actually not! That’s the cheapest stuff you can get!”

Omega looked at me in disbelief. And then a thought crossed my mind: A few hundred years ago, it must have been really difficult and rather expensive to get your hands on good tobacco that had spent weeks on sea.

“Nowadays, you can buy this stuff everywhere and it doesn’t cost a fortune!”, I assured him. Meanwhile, I realized that Alpha was staring at the cigarette in Omegas hand like a mistreated and forgotten puppy. 

“Hey, Alpha!”, I laughed, “do you want one, too, despite your kind bet regarding my mental health?”

These words had made Alpha cringe. But he quickly recollected himself: “Yeah! How… kind… of you!”

Seconds later, a tattooed hand stretched out to grab a cigarette. Since it had been a while since my last smoke, I, too, put one between my lips and started to rummage my bag for a lighter. 

“Here”, a voice interrupted my search. My eyes followed Alphas burning index finger as it carefully ignited my cigarette before moving on to Omegas and lastly lighting his own on fire. 

“How practical!”

“Yeah, indeed!”, Omega laughed after having taken a deep drag of his cigarette followed by exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, “as a smoker, I sometimes envy this pyromaniac for his ability. And once again, really good stuff!”

“If I ever get you guys outside, I’ll show you much better! If there ever is a chance to lead you out of this place!”


	7. Out Of The Dark...

Once again, I had spoken without thinking. The two demons looked at each other once more. Alpha took a deep drag of his cigarette. And maybe inhaled a bit too deep since started to cough rather heavily. 

Omega fixated me with his big blue eyes: “You really mean it?”

“Yeah, of course! So, there is a way! How does it work!”

“Before we tell you, we must warn you! And please, listen and think thoroughly!”, Omega warned me, “if you accept, a ton of responsibility will rest on your shoulders. And we can promise you that it won’t be pleasant all the time nor easy. It might even be dangerous…”

“It thought you want to get out of this…”

“Yeah, we do! But we don’t want you to regret your decision because of a lack of waring, ignorance and selfishness from our side.”

“Then what are you worrying about?”

“First of all, your well-being. The catholic church…”

“…is only a shell of what it used to be… No more inquisition! No crusades! No witch trials!”, I interrupted the tall demon.

“Well, if not for outside dangers, then there are our brothers. You have to realize, that if you lead us out of this place, you have to play nanny for five demons for the rest of…”

“I’m sure you can behave yourself! You haven’t eaten me or strangu…”

Now, Omega interrupted me: “Sure, Alpha and I can. But the rest of us… You know, what they did to welcome you. I suggest, you meet them before we put anything into action.”

“But you could at least tell me, what I must do to get you out of this place, right?”

Omega stayed silent and peered at Alpha looking for reassurance.

Taking his time, the pyromaniac cleared his throat: “Mhh… why not! Omega, tell… him!”

“Okay”, the taller demon began, “it’s nothing spectacular. You just have to take over the office of our previous leader. Swear a few vows. Receive his insignia. Accept our service and we’re ready to go. But remember: these vows count for life. There’s no stepping back once they’re completed.”

“That’s it? No crazy blood rites or magic shit?”

Both demons shook their heads.

“I expected something more graphic after seeing that pentagram…”

“Sorry, to disappoint you! We might be demons following a, at least in the eyes of the Christian faith, macabre cult, but we’re no savages.”

“Mhh, makes it less messy and dangerous I guess… Sounds safe! I have just one question remaining: What will happen afterwards? I guess this initiation thing changes nothing about my mortality. What will you do if I die?” 

“Haha! You’re a quick little thinker, aren’t you? And quite nosy as well! We only told you about the initiation ritual. There is more if you’re willing to commit your life to our cause…”

Omegas explanation was interrupted by my roaring stomach.


	8. The Source of Life...

“Somebody seems quite hungry”, Omega assessed, “enough of initiations and rituals. You need to eat something.”

Once again, I started digging through my bag and found what I was searching for.

Omega commented my idea of a balanced meal with a sarcastic laugh after having taken a bite of it: “You call that a responsible energy source? I mean it tastes okay but it’s definitely not good for you! What do you call this stuff?”

“A snickers candy bar…”

“I suggest something different! Hey, Alpha! Take our guest upstairs and do what you do best! I’ll talk to the others. They might behave better than the last time you met them.”

The two hooded demons stood up while I grabbed my stuff. Omega held the door open for me. Without a warning and fast as a lightning, Omega then disappeared in the darkness leaving me with the barely Swedish-speaking pyromaniac. Without any time to think, the smaller demon walked in the opposite direction towards the stairs, at least if I remembered correctly. I followed him. Well, I stumbled more than I walked since it was pitch black. 

The demon must have been aware of my insecurity, since he snipped his hands and moments later at least a dozen torches illuminated the hallway. 

“Better?”

“Yeah! Thank you, Alpha!”

Without another word, the demon moved on. I followed him up the stairs. In contrast to the last time I had been in the kitchen, it was now well-lighted by countless little candles dispersed throughout the room. Again, the demon snipped his fingers and the previously so desolate looking hearth was filled with flames. Alpha then opened a few drawers close to the hearth and handed me an ornate wooden bowl while he grabbed a kettle and headed towards the door that I assumed to be leading outside and had previously been locked.

It wasn’t anymore.

“Come!”, Alpha asked me to follow him. I did, after I had found my electric torch. 

Even behind the old church deep within the woods there were many old gravestones. Alpha didn’t seem to be bothered by them and led me away from the building. He seemed to know his way through them, while I really had to be careful to not trip over them. He stopped at a circle of those damned gravestones. 

“Hey, is this a well?”

He confirmed my words with a nod of his head. If you were trapped with no access to anything you had to use everything you could get your hands on. And there really was no shortage of gravestones here. 

After Alpha had silently fetched some water, he led me to something that vaguely looked like a garden. After we passed through the gates, I found myself surrounded by a strange mishmash of plants. Most of them I had never seen before. Alpha handed me the waterfilled kettle, while he received the bowl and immediately started to harvest some of the plants. I watched him with fascination as he threw the vegetables in the bowl. He muttered something.

“What did you say?”, I asked him assuming that he had spoken to me, “I couldn’t understand you.”

He looked at me: “Mhh… I… hate…” 

He obviously was missing the word.

“What do you hate?”

“This!”, he said while pointing towards the plants.

“Is ‘gardening’ the word you are looking for?”

“Yes! Gar… gardening!”

Seemingly happy to have learnt a new word, the demon continued his work. 

I knew that a real conversation with his lack of Swedish vocabulary was pretty pointless, still I had to ask: “Why do you hate gardening?”

The demon looked up again and thought for a moment: “Not my… job!”

He then pointed towards the plants: “Earth and Water…”

“Grow?”, I suggested.

“Yeah, they… grow… them! I make… fire!”

“That makes sense since you are the fire demon!”

Alpha snickered after hearing those words. Moments later, he arose: “I’m… done!”

We walked back towards the old church. After we had entered, he signalised me to sit down while he put the kettle over the fire. He turned around now two very sharp looking knifes in his hand: “Wanna… help me?” While saying this, he sat down next to me. I still eyed the knifes in his hands: “Why not! But you have to show me how to cut these things! I’ve never seen plants like this before!”

After a while, a thought crossed my mind: “Hey, Alpha! I don’t want to offend you, but I read somewhere that demons if they come to earth must eat human flesh to stay alive. Is that true?”

“Yeah!”

“But you’re not eating me, right?”

“No!”

“Then how did you survive all those years?”

“Seems like you two are having a nice conversation!”, a raspy voice from the stairs interrupted me, “I’m surprised you know all this stuff about us! Usually, people know shit about demonic matter when they come here. Yet most chose to not talk to us anyway. To come back to your question: we need to consume human flesh to stay alive. But since our lifespan slightly alters from human beings, we only need to eat it very sporadically. We have our sources. Like I said before, some of our visitors tend to stay after a heart attack or something severely alike. It’d be a shame to waste all the precious meat!”

As if by an invisible hand, a squeaky door of a cupboard opened close to the hearth. In there hung something that vaguely reminded me of Black Forest ham or prosciutto that’s usually found hanging and ripening somewhere in old basements. 

“Is that…”

“…human flesh? Yes, it is!”, Omega answered now fully entering the kitchen with an even bigger black hooded figure behind him, “but don’t worry. We’re not going to eat you! And the meal Alpha is preparing is vegetarian. We’re a special kind of demons thus preferring our meat when it’s already dead. Since there are so many people dying, why should we even bother killing anyone?”

I guess this was a point for the demons.

“We usually aren’t picky when it comes to selecting a place to live but it’s very handy when a graveyard is around. Always fresh bodies to excavate. Yet on this graveyard, people have been dead way too long.”

“Is that where the whole ghoul mythos comes from?”

“Precisely! That’s the name given to our kind of demons. Well, there are others that need to eat fresh but that’s another story”, Omega chuckled, “before I forget: this is our dear brother Air!”


	9. The Mansion...

A figure even taller than Omega stepped forward and offered me his hand: “Buon giorno!”

“Hi!”, was everything I said before I shook his hand. Whereas the handshake with Alpha had been rather fiery and the one with Omega had been extremely cold, this handshake felt like vaguely having touched anything, really suiting the demon’s name. 

“Hey! Do you by any chance speak Italian?”, Omega asked me.

I looked at Omega: “I understand a few words here and there. But I don’t speak it. Why?”

Omega put an arm around Airs shoulder: “Well, for whatever reason this guy here is fluent in Italian while his Swedish is even worse than Alphas…”

Air interrupted him with a coughing.

“…yeah, probably not worse but it isn’t good either! And didn’t you forget something? I honestly don’t want to lock you up again!”

Air looked to the floor and muttered more to himself: “I’m… sorry!”

Omega took on from there: “Usually, Air is a nice guy but when Earth and Water are around… Well, they sometimes drag him down a spiral and he ends up participating in some acts of mischief. I hope you can forgive him.”

“Sure, if it doesn’t happen ag…”

“It won’t!”, Air interrupted me, “I’ll… be… behave… myself!” Air then set down opposite of me while still avoiding my gaze. He really seemed to be ashamed of his deeds.

With a splash, the last ingredients found their way into the kettle. Alpha stirred a few times through it, before sitting down as well. Omega, too, joined us, when a thought escaped my mouth: “By the way, are you all that tall? I feel like a fucking dwarf!”

The three tall demons snickered in unison. 

“No!”, Omega began, “you should only meet the other two. Water is about your size while Earth…” 

“…is a dwarf!”, Alpha continued for Omega because the latter had been searching for more appropriate words.

“Yeah, he is very tiny. Thank you for helping me out, Alpha! It still surprises me, that these little shits can cause that much trouble”, Omega laughed. 

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yes!”, the three demons exclaimed in unison. 

“But isn’t there a way to… at least tame them and tell them when it’s time to stop?”

“Alpha and I have tried everything!”

“But didn’t you say that I, if I overtake your previous leader’s office, I would gain a certain level of control ov…”

Omega slapped himself: “Yeah, that’s right! I’ve totally forgotten about that! Wasn’t he, you know back then, able to stop them?”

Alpha and Air started to speak rapidly in the tongue I couldn’t understand leaving me clueless… Again!

After what felt like an eternity, Omega turned back to me: “There is a general agreement amongst us. You’re right. It’s just been so long since he died. You as our new leader would gain a certain level of control over us…”

“Enough to tell them when to stop?”

“Probably!”

“Sounds very convincing by the way…", I laughed, "still, I can’t take all of you with me at once!”

They looked at me with big eyes. Then, Alpha muttered: “But… why?”

“Well, not all of you fit in my car and…”

“What’s a car?”

“A coach without horses… Don’t ask me why and how it works. It just does. You’ll see. But the bigger problem is my current financial and housing situation. Even though you say that the two others are remarkably smaller, I just can’t imagine how six people are supposed to fit in there and I can’t afford anything else. So, if you don’t have another solution…”

“We have!”, Omega interrupted me, “Air, would you please be so kind and get THE documents.”

Without wasting any time, Air simply disappeared. One second he sat at the table and the next, he was gone.

“What documents are you talking about?”

“You’ll see! In the meantime, Alpha, what about that stew?”

I was just spooning the last few drops out of my bowl, when Air suddenly appeared next to me screaming: “Ha! I found it!”

It was a wonder that everything stayed on the table.

“Air, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry!”

He handed me a big bunch of papers. I quickly scanned through them: “What is this?”

Omega began: “Well, we own this mansion…”

“Are you kidding me? Are this the legal documents for St. Mary?”

“Yeah, only that we used to call it St. Lucifer….”

“These documents have been missing for the last…”

“… 160 years to be exact!”, Omega continued my sentence, “it’s ours until our return. I guess, the housing situation is solved now.”

I stared at the papers in disbelief. Those papers had been lost for ages. Ownership of St. Mary could only be granted with what I held in my hand. Many people had tried to buy the mansion but all had failed since the legal burdens of acquiring St. Mary could only be overcome with the original papers. Until then, the keys were in a secure vault and the property sealed. And entering without keys and the official permission had countless times proven to be unsuccessful. Since the papers seemed to be lost, many myths and rumours surrounded the old building. Now, I knew why. 

“So, this building belonged to…”

“Belongs!”, Omega corrected me.

“Belongs still to you?”

“Exactly! It used to be our private secret residence. This”, he pointed around, “was only for official purpose.”

“Secret!”, I snorted, “Isn’t the church aware of the true ownership of this mansion?”

“No! That’s why we invested so much effort that no one would ever get their hands on this property. There are a few things hidden in there that aren’t supposed to find their way in any Christian hand. But enough of that. Since the housing problem is solved, can you get us out of here together despite the horseless coach issue?”

I looked at Omega: “Technically, yes! But I know the Swedish public administration. Just because you have the legal documents, they won’t hand you the keys straight away. It will take weeks ‘til everything’s processed and maybe solved. They’ll ask me where I got these from and so on since I suppose you guys won’t and can’t show up there personally, right?”

They shook their heads. 

“And ‘til the matter is solved, I can’t host five demons in this rathole I call home. I can take only two of you for the beginning. That’s the absolute maximum. I’ll lead you out of this place if you still want me to, I promise, but I simply cannot do more for now! I really want to help you, but… Sorry!”

The demons again started to chat rapidly in their language.

After a while, Omega informed me of the outcome: “The three of us, so that’s already the majority, agree that you are the best chance we’ll ever get to get out of this place. And we like you! Since you know the current world outside of this church better than we do, we think it’s better to trust you even though we usually do not split. Who is going to accompany you and how long will it approximately take?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Omega, since you’re the only one fluent in Swedish, you’ll come with me. Besides, I think I can’t separate Alpha and you.”

“Seems like the naughty ones will get their punishment”, Omega assessed to which Air said something I couldn’t understand.

Omega translated for me while Alpha let out a sarcastic laugh: “Air said something like ‘Yay! Private time with our drama queens!’”

“Speaking of naughty ghouls. Shouldn’t I meet them? And shouldn’t they be informed?” Seconds later, Air disappeared again. Alpha turned back to his stew and spooned the content of his bowl under the black mask that covered his face. I watched him in fascination. The question mark on my face must have been way too obvious.

“Practice! That’s the answer you’re looking for!”, a raspy voice brought me out of my thoughts. Omega had eyed me the entire time. He held one of the self-made cigarettes between his fingers: “Alpha, I need some fire! Since I’m in a kind of sharing mood, do you think you’re brave enough to try one?”

“Why not!”

So, Omega handed me one. Even Alpha got lucky. I was just thinking about what these cigarettes were reminding me off, vaguely of a mixture of mint and something spicy but not in a bad way, when loud screams made me turn my head towards the stairs.

“Is everything alright?”

Omega soothed me: “Nothing to worry about! Seems like Air is a bit rougher today. Maybe because he has to stay here with them…”

And indeed, Air made his way up the stairs with a tight grip around the two troublemaker’s necks. Since both were remarkably shorter than the tall demon, Earths and Waters feet were dangling in the air. I don’t know how Air did it, since the two small demons were viciously fighting against his grip while screaming in a manner that almost made my ears numb. The screaming stopped promptly, when Air simply opened his massive paws, thus letting his two smaller brothers clash on the floor.

Omega made a lavish gesture towards the two cursing ghouls on the floor: “Let me present to you our pair of very naughty ghouls! Special breed! Specifically made for trouble! Say ‘Hi’ to our guest!”

I looked at the moving mess of black clothes on the ground, that was slowly starting to reassemble itself. One demon, the presumably bigger one, rubbed his head while the other one was still cursing and pointing an angry finger towards Air who showed no sign of reaction. Without even looking towards the table where Alpha, Omega and I were sitting, the small demon jumped up, gripped the front of Air cassock and started to yell at the almost two heads taller demon… 

And even after a few minutes, the small demon showed absolutely no sign of slowing down or stopping. Air, one the other side, didn’t seemed to be bothered at all by his tiny brother. 

“Hey!”, Omega leaned over and started to speak in my ear, “if you’re wondering what Earth is yelling: most of it are some very nice words…”

“What a surprise!”

“Yeah! But now comes the interesting part: Earth here doesn’t believe that you survived our welcoming and further agreed to talk to us and so on. Therefore, he’s lacking any sort of understanding for Airs treatment of him, thus feeling rather mistreated. He’s even demanding an official excuse. Now, he’s asking where your corpse is. He’s guessing that Alpha already turned it into sausage and demands his share of the booty.”

Water, who was still sitting on the ground and rubbing his head, had watched the scene between the smallest and the tallest demon and thus, had not paid any attention towards the table either. But Omegas movement towards me had changed that. The realization that the guest that had received such a warm welcoming was sitting very much alive at the table and even was aware of the angry words by the smallest demon made the second smallest demon open his eyes wide in astonishment. For a moment, Water froze but somehow caught himself. His hand found Earths cassock dragging it nervously trying to make the small demon stop. 

And indeed, the small demon turned towards Water and now yelled at him. The latter only pointed towards the table which made the little squaller veer for the first time in my direction. Something escaped the demons mouth that vaguely reminded me of the word “Fuck”.


	10. The Vow...

According to Omega, who had mentally translated parts of the demonic conversation for me so I could catch up, something extraordinary had just happened: Earth and Water sat at the table quietly with their heads down in shame of their actions. Alpha and Omega had chided them severely while simultaneously telling them the latest developments regarding their current human visitor. 

Somehow, I knew that Omega was finishing as he switched his spoken words into Swedish: “…I think I said enough about your bad behaviour. Tell our guest, how sorry you are!”  
None of them said a word. I wondered whether the lack of knowledge of the Swedish language was the reason and expressed my thoughts.

“Well, for him yes!”, Omega responded by pointing towards the smallest demon, “Earth only knows a ton of Swedish swearwords. But Water here is relatively fluent in Swedish. He’s just too shy to speak up!”

“Really?”, I asked, “but what about that friendly welcoming? He didn’t seem to be…”

“Because he was pushed by Earth! Something explosive is being created when they’re together”, Omega then turned towards Water, “but now, Water, you can prove yourself! I know you, too, want to get out of this dark hole. To get out of here, our dear visitor needs to decide if he wants to become our new leader. He’s already quite positive about Air, Alpha and myself but wasn’t quite pleased with Earth and you. He told me earlier that everything depends on your apology and your behaviour in general. So, go ahead!”

Well, I hadn’t actually said that but let Omega go with his strategy…

Waters eyes widened yet no words left his mouth. Earth wanted to help him but one of Airs hands quickly covered the small demon’s mouth. 

“We’re not going to continue until you’ve apologized! And I’m quite sure our guest doesn’t want to sit here for all eternity!”

Water shifted uncomfortably in his chair. For a fraction of a second, our eyes met. He then lowered his head quickly and began to mumble something more to his feet than towards me: “I… I… I know this… wasn’t right… what we did. I… I… I wish… it hadn’t happened… b... but I… I… can’t… change time.”

A longer pause followed.

“I… I… I wish, Earth… hadn’t… said… those words. That… you’re…. still sitting… here… and… and you want to he-he-help us… and… and lead us out of this place sh-sh-shows me… that you… must have a heart of… gold… since nobody… usually… shows understanding and… and sympathy for… our kind… especially… after this… welcoming. P… P… Please, forgive me!”

He even looked up for these last few words. Somehow, I couldn’t be angry. His eyes just broke my heart. I cleared my throat: “You’re forgiven if you promise to behave yourself in the future!” 

“Ye-ye-yes! I… I will!” 

He emphasized his last words by offering me his hand that I soon grabbed: “Hi, I’m… Wa… Water! Nice to… meet you!” With this handshake, I discovered the next texture of a demonic hand: cold, kind of squishy and rather humid.

“If that’s enough for you”, Omega looked at me, “we can continue with this little bad boy!”

Whereas the shy Water had been cooperative, believable and honest, Earth was an entirely different case. The first difficulty came with the language barrier as everything had to be translated. But to be honest, that was the smaller problem. The second and bigger one was Earths obstinacy. Despite that I sensed that he somehow felt sorry, he refused to apologize, stating that he hadn’t done anything wrong. 

Then came the point, when I simply had enough of his behaviour: “Look, you little brat! Is it too much to apologize? You don’t have to fall on your knees abandoning all your shitty principles. I honestly can live without that. A simple apology would be enough. But if you want to stay here for all eternity… What about I leave with your four brothers while you stay here and miss all the fun?”

“No, you… can’t!”

“Yes, I can!”

“Yes, he can!”, Omega confirmed my words. 

Then, something switched. Earth indeed apologized. Well, rathe reluctantly. After he finished or better Omega had translated the last bits, I looked the small demon in the eyes: “I can forget the past if you’ll behave yourself! Do you understand that?”

Earth nodded his head but refused to offer me his hand…

“Since this matter is solved now”, I continued, “can we please get over with the initiation?”

“Don’t you need more time to consider?”, Omega asked me.

I looked on my watch: “Is it 11 am or pm?”

“Should be pm!”

“Still Sunday?”

“Yes!”

“Can we please get this over as fast as possible or else my boss will be killing me! I’ll already be missing a day of work and I simply cannot afford to miss another one since it will at least take a day to get out of here!”

“Is it really that urgent?”, Omega asked me.

“Yes! Or do you have some hidden money or gold resources outside of this place?”

“Sadly, everything we own is sealed in that mansion and even we can’t enter without the key.”

“Then, I’d prefer a quick exit! You can explain more to me when we get out of this place!”

Suddenly, the machine started to role and a few hours later the five demons and I were downstairs and everything for the initiation was ready. To my surprise, it really wasn’t that complicated. A few ritualistic vows in the demonic tongue later, the pentagram on the ground started to glow. While the others began to sing in their tongue, Omega lifted his arms. His large silver rings started to glow while the ground in the middle of the pentagram burst open. I watched everything from the outside as it wasn’t my turn yet to participate. 

Then, as the singing got more and more intense, a skeleton still dressed ornately and covered with different kinds of insignia including a mitre emerged from the ground. Omega signalized me to enter the pentagram and position myself next to the remains of their former leader. Luckily, the soil was even again and showed no sign of disturbance. Alpha began to recite some verses in Latin out of a handwritten book while Omega translated. I had to repeat a few things here and there but nothing too tragic, well until the last question: 

“Are you ready to swear right here right now before the devil to overtake this very unholy duty? Guide this group of demons for all eternity? Dedicate your life and soul to the Dark Lord?”

I replied with the adequate Latin phrase. As soon as I finished, I was asked to pick one special item out of the large number of pieces of insignia. I chose a small silver ring and put it on my left ring finger. The moment it set on its destined place, the ring merged with my finger, making it clear that this vow was indeed for life. After that, I knew, somehow out of instinct, that it was time to stretch me arms wide open and embrace my fate. 

The five demons then stepped forward and grabbed my arms. The moment their skins touched mine, I felt energy entering my body and a connection forging. Just for a moment, I could see a negative of their personality until the connection suddenly vanished. But what I had seen, hadn’t scared me and rather strengthened my conjecture that these weren’t dangerous creatures.

“Did it work?”, Water asked.

“Yeah! I think so!”, Omega exclaimed euphorically pointing towards the bunch of insignia on the ground, “his body disintegrated. That means he’s the past and this guy here, our new Papa, is the present and our future!”

“But I don’t have to wear all those things, don’t I?”, I asked while pointing towards the bunch of insignia.

“Not if you don’t want to. One piece, the ring in your case, should be enou…”

“We’re free!”, a voice suddenly started to sing. The voice belonged to Earth. The small demon began to sing and dance around me and vaguely reminded me of an Irish leprechaun. He finished his vicious dance by jumping in my arms and to my surprise, he even thanked me. It could have been a perfect moment, if he hadn’t screamed it in my ear at the top of his voice. 

“Thank you, Earth! But could you please get off me”, I said while rubbing my ear. And indeed, he crawled off me and looked at me with a guilty expression in his eyes. Omega translated his next words: “Sorry, if that was a bit too loud, but you really made me and my brothers happy with what you did. Sorry, for everything that happened earlier! Let’s hope for the best in the future. But before that, I’d like to introduce myself: I’m Earth! To your service!”

He offered me his hand that I now gladly accepted: “Thank you, Earth! Well said! Let’s hope for the best to come!”

After a while, he let go of my hand that now weirdly felt like it had been covered with clay particles.

“Well!”, I hated to say those next words since I wasn’t that keen on braking apart this ensemble of demons that only after a few hours of knowing them felt like the family I had always wanted, but I had to if I didn’t want to lose my job, “shall we go?”

“Now time to lose?”, Omega assessed. 

“Sadly, yes! Do you need to pack?”

Both Alpha and Omega shock their heads.

Some time later, it must be early in the morning, the six of us were standing at the border of the property. The old church behind us. I still felt bad about separating the demons…

“B…B… But… you’re coming… b… b… back?”, Water asked nervously.

“Yes!”, Omega began to explain, “as fast as we can. Air will explain everything to Earth and you in detail why our new Papa can’t host five demons. At least not for the beginning. Something about horseless coaches…”

Omega stopped to take a deep breath.

“As soon as we get St. Lucifer back, we’ll pick you up! We promise!”, Omega said. Seconds later, the tall bulky demon found himself in a tight embrace by his smaller brother. Alpha, Air and Earth joined in too. Then without a warning, a strong hand pulled me in and I found myself in the middle of this pile of bodies of various sizes and temperatures.


	11. Into The Light...

We had been walking for hours and despite leaving their three brothers behind, the two demons seemed quite euphoric, telling me how bright the woods had become now that they had left the old church and its bounds behind and were on their way to the world. For me, it was still pitch black and I was more than glad that Omega had recharged my electric torch. We kept on walking. 

We had left early in the morning. It was noon now and despite having made quite a distance, I knew that we still had a few hours to go. While walking, a question came to my mind: “Will you walk around like that in public?”

Both demons eyed me.

“I mean dressed like this and masked…”

“Humans aren’t supposed to see us. The masks must stay on. But if you want us to wear something different than black cloaks…”

“And what about me? Do these masks even have to stay on when only I’m around?”

“As long as the next initiation ritual hasn’t been performed, they’ll stay on. Sorry, but we didn’t make the rules.”

“But… why?”

Omega eyed me: “I cannot answer that. That rule was made long before one of us set foot on this planet. But at the moment, we can’t – by any means – afford to be seen.”

After that, we walked for a good amount of time.

Endless hours later, the density of the woods finally decreased. A distinctive bend of a small river even signalized me that we weren’t that far from the parking area.

“Hey!”, I broke the silence, “do you have any plans or specific wishes when we get out of here… which shouldn’t take too long anymore?”

The two demons chatted in their tongue leaving me clueless…

“Alpha says, arson would be a spectacular way to re-enter the world! Do you know where the nearest church is located?”

I almost collided with a tree: “What!?!”

Both Alpha and Omega began to laugh.

“You must be kidding me…”, I gulped, “well, are you?”

“Of course, we are!”, Omega chuckled, “but your face was priceless!”

He looked over to Alpha who was leaning against a nearby tree: “I think the two of us agree that it’d be for the better if you just show us how you live so that we can catch up on everything we’ve missed and get a chance to re-integrate ourselves. For small wishes: I’d like to smoke some of the ‘good’ stuff you spoke about earlier, see the sun and Linköping! I’m curious how the town has changed!”

“I think we can manage that! Alpha, any wishes?”

The smaller demon thought for a moment: “Mhh… Do… hu… humans… still drink… beer?”

“Oh yes!”, Omega exclaimed, “I totally forgot about that stuff! And wine?”

“We still do!”, I laughed, “we can get some as well! Let me guess, Earth and Water didn’t manage to grow grapes and hops.”

“They failed miserably! And instead focused on growing something to smoke!”

Another couple of hours later, we finally reached the car. To the demons and my disappointment, the sun had already set. So, Omegas wish had to wait ‘til the morning. Instead, the night sky was rather striking and clear making it able to see tonight’s remarkable starry heavens. In fact, the spangled sky was of such beauty that it was extremely difficult to shift the demons’ attention back towards the ground.

“Hey, I know that the sight of the sky must be striking but if you don’t hurry up and get in the car, we won’t have any time to get some beer, cigarettes and a good sight of Linköping!”

Finally, the demons’ gaze moved back to the ground now eyeing my small shitty car.

“What is this piece of metal?”, Omega asked suspiciously. 

“This is the horseless coach!”

A push of a button later, and the car was unlocked. I opened the passengers’ door and moved the seat up front. I looked around: “Hey, one of you has to climb in the back. Alpha, since you’re the smaller one, I suggest you sit in the back. I apologize in advance! I know how small this car is.”

Quite some time later, the two demons were sitting in the car. Getting Alpha in the tiny back of the car had revealed his vast knowledge of Swedish curse words which was probably the only positive thing about my shitty lemon of a car. I slammed the door behind me, put the seatbelt on and turned the keys around. Fortunately, the engine started to roar right away. Well, rather miserably to be honest. After three days on the parking area, my car finally left the woods behind. A few miles ahead, I realized the white knuckles on Omegas hand that tightly encompassed the door handle. 

“Omega, is everything alright? Has your stomach something against riding a car?”

“My stomach feels fine! What I don’t feel fine about is your horseless coach! Half of its electrical system is broken; the oil level is severely low and there is almost no petrol left!”

“But the lights aren’t on yet! There should be enough…”

“Didn’t I just say your electrical system is broken! The gas light is defective!”

“Since when are you a car expert? I thought this is your first ride and you never spend a look at the engine.”

“Since I first touched this thing! I can feel it! This horseless coach feels like a dying mess! You should really do something about the oil or else something rather unpleasant will happen.”

Luckily, there was a gas station a few kilometres ahead. I told the two demons to stay in the car while I refuelled as much as my wallet could afford. I checked the oil level and indeed, it was severely low. So, I had to buy oil as well. I was almost broke now. Well, after I had bought the cigarettes and the beer for the two demons, I really was. Hopefully, my boss would not fire me for missing a day at work. 

After the oil level was on a bearable level again, I got in the car and drove off worrying about way too many things.

“Is everything alright?”, Omega asked me. 

“Mh… I bought you some cigarettes and beer! Sorry, it’s only the cheap stuff. Couldn’t afford…”

“Don’t worry about us! What we should worry about is you! So, what’s troubling you?”

“I’m… I mean my wallet is totally blank! Not a single coin left. I’m broke. And I’m not even sure if my boss will forgive me my absence…”

“Hey, maybe if you try to reason with him, he’ll underst…”

“No, you don’t understand! He’s the biggest asshole around.”

Omega remained silent after that, obviously thinking about the situation. 

“Hey, don’t worry too much about me”, I told Omega, “I’ll figure a way out of this situation. But tomorrow! Not now! I thought you might want to see Linköping at night.”

We drove up a hill which offered the perfect sight over the city.

“I hope you like it. I don’t know how many times I got drunk up here. It’s one of my favourite spots in and around town!”

I stopped the engine and helped the demons out of the tiny car. I watched the two as they wandered to get a better look over the city. While they still tried to process the sight in front of them, I opened the trunk of my car and retrieved the bag I had got at the gas station. I walked over to my new friends and handed them both a bottle of beer and a package of cigarettes. Usually, I had a bottle opener with me, but… 

Omega got ahead of me and a movement of his hand later, three crown caps were flying through the air. 

“Nice party trick!”, I commented the action, “Cheers! Enjoy the beer!”

I didn’t care anymore about the time I’d go to bed. It would be late and a shitty day ahead of me tomorrow anyway. Since the two demons were so fascinated by the sight and the beer, I didn’t want to interrupt them. Well, only with a few questions: “Has it changed much?”

Alpha nodded his head while Omega answered: “It seems like it exploded! So many buildings, people and especially light around!”

“More.. el… elec… electri…”, Alpha stuttered.

“You mean electricity?”

“Yes!”

“Yeah, the houses down there are powered or better run with it. But where did you catch that word?”, I asked in surprise. 

“I think Alpha and I heard this invisible voice talking between the music through this electronic devise in your car while you were getting the beer. Something about cheaper energy…”, Omega answered, “well, and when you told us about that light of yours.”

“How was the city when you left?”

“A lot smaller, without electricity and inhabited by hard-working honest yet struggling people that were fed up with what the church did. That’s one of the reasons why our previous leader chose to summon us and create this entire community or cult as the Catholic Church liked to call it. It worked fine until they found out what was going on.”

“Tell me more about…”

“No! Not now!”, Omega said with a harsh tone and emptied his bottle, “I shouldn’t have opened that box. We are very thankful for this sight, the smoke and the beer, but not at your cost! You should be in bed getting some rest!”

I wanted to protest but I knew that he was right. 

“We can tell you more when time comes and we’ll learn a lot more about the world”, Omega reassured me. 

“Well”, I looked at him, “but only if I can drill you with questions!”


	12. Home...

Half an hour later, we finally arrived at the place I called home for now: a shitty apartment block. At least it was affordable. I turned in my seat so that I faced both Alpha and Omega: “This is where I live.”

I pointed towards the building in front of us.

“I have some trouble with my landlord. He wants to get rid of me since quite some time now. I don’t need to give him a reason for throwing me out. So please, enter quietly and less suspiciously.”

Luckily, it was already very late and most of my neighbours should be sleeping. Most of them were nice people and I hadn’t really a problem with them except for the occasional loud music… I was just very glad that it was dark. I couldn’t image entering this building with two hooded figures in broad daylight. Still, I didn’t dare to switch on the light. The old woman on the second floor tended to wake up whenever that happened. 

I reached the third and topmost floor first. I was just about to turn around and warn the two demons about the raised last step, when Omega padded my shoulder and whispered in my ear: “We already saw that. One of the advantages of being nocturnal.”

Fractions of a second later, I saw Alpha stumbling. If it hadn’t been for Omegas quick reaction, the Fire Ghoul would have fallen but was now floating in mid-air. Still, that didn’t stop the cursing. A level lower, a light had been switched on. As fast as I could, I opened the door, signalized the two demons to get in there as fast as possible and shut the door. Relieved, I leaned against the door while I heard the old woman look for whatever had caused the disturbance. 

“Alpha, could you please stop the cursing and be a bit quieter. I wanted to warn you about that step but I got distracted! Sorry!”

“He isn’t cursing about you!”, Omega laughed, “and it wasn’t that last step that caused this little situation. It’s the cassock!”

“The cassock?”

“Yeah, the cassock! This isn’t the first time he’s tripped because of that cassock! I don’t know how many times my brothers and I have told him that it’s too long. A couple of centimetres shorter and everything would be fine… But now I know why you were so persistent about only taking two of us. This place really is small!”

In my eyes, small was almost a nice way and a very big understatement to describe this apartment. A little kitchen unit was squeezed into on corner, a few shelves here and there mostly filled with records, DVDs and black clothes, a TV, my musical equipment, my laptop and an, at least for the measurements of this room, oversized bed didn’t leave much room to move. And there was a small bathroom. Basically, not much space and a hellhole to live in during summer. 

I pointed towards the bed: “Hey, take it! I’m going to get changed!”

I grabbed my sleeping shirt and shorts and went into the bathroom. Five minutes later, I was ready for bed. The two demons hadn’t moved.

“Where did you plan to sleep?”, a raspy voice asked me.

“On the floor!”, I answered while setting the alarm for the coming morning.

“Stop kidding and get into YOUR bed!”

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about us! We’ll be fine!”

I was too tired to argue and barely able to keep my eyes open but still too proud to let my guests sleep on the floor: “That’s absolutely unacceptable!”

“What do you suggest then? If none of us is sleeping on the floor…”

I pointed towards the bed: “If you don’t mind, it should be big enough for the three of us…”

Both demons shrugged with their shoulder while Omega laughed: “Actually not! If that makes you go to sleep.”

The moment my body touched the soft mattress, I drifted away.

 

Only to be woken, what felt like only five minutes later, by the vicious noise of the alarm clock. Morning definitely had come too fast. Getting out of the bed was the last thing I wanted to do right now especially since it was so pleasantly warm. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Suddenly, I remembered the last few days and the reason why it was so warm struck my mind. The two demons had curled themselves up next to me and were sleeping peacefully. Well, and both were radiating heat like crazy explaining why it was so warm since I usually refused to spend too much money on heating and thus usually awoke in my freezing cold apartment.

As quiet as possible, I got out of the bed, grabbed my working clothes and entered the bathroom. A quick shower later, I got dressed and opened the door. To my surprise, Omega already sat at the table two steaming cups of coffee and a plate of sandwiches in front of him.

“Did I wake you up?”

Omega shook his head: “I’m not a big sleeper. I’ve been awake for hours! Didn’t want to miss the sunrise! Alpha, in contrast, sleeps like a rock. An explosion, a thunder storm, an eruption or something alike wouldn’t wake him up. I thought I’d save you some time if I prepare your breakfast. I wasn’t really sure about the stuff in your cooling machine. I used what still tasted okay and didn’t look or smelled rotten.”

I really needed to go shopping and refill my fridge. But first, I needed to get paid which was the bigger problem. 

I finally found the package of cigarettes and started to smoke. I also grabbed the cup of coffee and started looking for a bag or a container. Then, I placed my sandwiches in the bag I had found.

“Aren’t you eating anything?”

“Well, except for the usual morning cigarette and coffee, I usually leave on an empty stomach. I’ll eat later and I’m in a hurry anyways”, I answered while grabbing the car key, a jacket and the sandwich bag, “I don’t know when I’ll be back. I know my boss and I’ll probably have to work a double shift to make up for the time I missed. Feel free to use anything. Just keep the volume on an inconspicuous level and stay in the apartment. See you later and thanks for the sandwiches!”

I waved goodbye to Omega and closed the door. At least I didn’t have to worry about lunch anymore. I only hoped he hadn’t created an inedible combination of whatever was left in the fridge…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you waiting for the smut: it's definitively on the way! Just a few more chapters to establish the foundations... And thank you very much for the comments and kudos :)


	13. Piece of Shit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatever happened recently (I hope you know what I mean) will not affect this work...

It was late when I got home. A lot later than I had expected. I closed the door behind me and leaned against the cold wood sighing in relief closing my eyes. A hard day of work lay behind be. As I had expected my furious boss had made me work a double shift. Endless hours of packing and stacking heavy boxes later, my body was drained of all energy. I felt like a walking corpse. The worried looks in the supermarket had confirmed my thoughts. At least he had paid me. But I was in desperate need of rest and was just thinking about a warm shower when a pleasant smell entered my nose…

Almost simultaneously, a raspy yet concerned voice brought me out of my thoughts: “Hey, are you alright?”

I opened my eyes only to find Alpha lying on the bed watching TV while Omega stood in front of the small kitchen unit a pair of headphones around his neck connected to my IPod. He looked at me concern clearly visible in his eyes. Behind him, steam emerged from a few cooking pots on the stove.

“Did you cook for me?”

“Yes, but we expected you a bit earl…”

“Sorry, my boss…”

“Don’t apologize. We have plenty of time! You on the other side look horrible! I suggest you take a shower, eat and rest. And maybe tell us about your day! I’ll take care of the groceries.”

I gladly obeyed. Quite some time later, I enjoyed the meal the two demons had prepared for me. Despite the lack of ingredients, the had managed to create something tasty. I had just finished my third portion, when Omega asked me about my day again.

“But he can’t treat you like that!”, Omega exclaimed in furious anger after I had finished.

“For him, I’m just another piece of shit”, I sighed, “a cheap worthless replaceable labourer who’s in desperate need of money.”

“Alpha and I should have a word with him! This job isn’t good for you!”

“What else is there for me? I need that job!”

“You don’t need that job. What you need is money! And there are other ways to get money!”

“But for money I need a job!”

“There are other ways to get money!”, Omega repeated emphatically, “let’ suppose money isn’t the problem. The real question is what you want to do for a living or better with your life! I suppose you don’t want to stack boxes for all eternity. And please, be honest!”

“But…”

“Hey, we are here to help you! But in order to help you, we need to know what you want!”

“Well, writing and playing music for a living would be nice! Forming a band and tour a bit…”

“Then we’ll be doing that!”

“But how? Without money, proper equipment, a record deal and musicians? Despite that, how am I supposed to record in this hellhole?”

Alpha and Omega looked at each other. Then the latter snickered: “I think after the job and money issue is solved, we’ll concentrate on getting St. Lucifer back. There’s plenty of space to do whatever you want and we can buy proper equipment. Musician wise, I think you just made five new friends that are very keen at learning new things!”

“But things are said so easily…”

“We know! But with us it is! Tomorrow, we’ll help you to make them come true!”

“How will you achieve that? You know nothing about this world! You’ve been locked away for 160 years!”

“Don’t underestimate us! I’ve been on the internet today…”

“You used my laptop?”

“Yeah, I was curious how it worked…”

“You cracked the password?”

“Well, that was rather easy! Just that you know: I didn’t read your emails nor your personal files. I was more curious about the internet, so I sort of connected my brain with it. I might have absorbed a bit too much information… Still, I’m sure your boss isn’t legally allowed to treat you like this since the entire Swedish collection of laws was amongst the things I absorbed.”

“Really?”

“I haven’t quite processed everything but I’m 100 percent sure he Isn’t…”

“No, I didn’t mean that! Did you really connect yourself with the internet?”

“Yes!”, Omega smiled, “like I said before I have a knack for controlling and shaping matter and figuring out how it works. That doesn’t exclude my body! I can connect myself with many things. Besides the cooking, I’ve been busy discovering the function of your electronic devises, doing some research on the internet and getting through your music collection.” Omega pointed towards the headphones around his neck. 

Now, I had to process these bits of information.

“Omega is… quite… keen at… ada… adapt… shit… adapting!”

Over the discussion with Omega, I had totally forgotten about Alpha. But I was glad to get away from my conversation with Omega. Simply too tired to pursuit it….

“Yeah, seems like it!” a baffled me said, “Hey Alpha, what did you do all day?”

The Fire Demon began to speak to Omega in their tongue. Omega only shook his head: “Tell him yourself! It’s the best practice!”

Alpha sighed: “Okay, I’ll try… Well… I mainly… watched… mo… mo… movies… to im… improve my… Swedish a… and English!”

“Alpha, that’s great! You already sound much better than in the woods! What did you watch?”

Instead of answering my question, he simply handed me the DVD boxes. Most were old 70s horror movies, Salem’s Lot, Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist - yet one stood out: “You really watched Titanic?”

But Alpha avoided my gaze.

Omega commented: “Yeah, he even watched it twice! And both times, he wept bitterly! Almost like a fucking fountain!”


	14. Watch Out For The Iceberg...

“D… did… that re… really… happen?”

“Yeah, Alpha! The ship sank in 1912.”

“Did Jack… really… die?”

“Jep! Despite the movie often being categorized as quite cheesy, most of what is depicted really happened. So, Jack’s dead!”

To my surprise, Alpha began to weep bitterly. I took him in my arms and tried to solace him – without really being successful. I looked at Omega who only rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders: “Not again! The first time he watched it, it took me almost half an hour to calm him down!”

A question formed in my mind but Omega got ahead: “Alpha, get your shit together! Usually, you’re such a tough guy or at least acting like one… And now you’re a sogging mess…”

Seems like he ran out of words…

So, the room remained silent.

Then, I had an idea: “What about if we watch something a bit more cheerfully!”

Finding happy or funny movies in my apartment proved to be rather difficult. Somehow, I knew where we would end up and after quite some search, we found ourselves in front of the TV watching Spinal Tap. Well, the two demons seemed to be quite excited about the movie, while I had seen it almost a million times. At least it made me forget about my boss and lulled me into sleep…

But my sleep was plagued with nightmares… By boss seemed to appear constantly no matter the circumstances.

I finally awoke after an outburst of his that was almost identical to a particularly rememberable outburst from a few weeks ago, after one of my co-workers had dropped a bottle of chemicals and I had come to his help, assisting him to get the hazardous substance off his skin. 

I opened my eyes. I was covered in cold sweat. My heart rushing. 

There was something warm on my head – a warm big hand to be precise.

“Hey, what are doing? Get out of my head!”

Two deep blue eyes looked at me filled with guilt: “Sorry! I just had this idea… And I needed to be sure that whatever you said about your boss is true…”

“Is that why you screwed with my head?”

“You were aware of…”

“Yes! Haven’t dreamt this bad in quite some time! One scene of him after another! Please, don’t do that again!”

“Oh!”, Omega said, “usually you shouldn’t have been aware of my doings! Hope, it wasn’t too bad…”

“Never mind! That wasn’t the first time I dreamt of him and I have to get up in a few minutes to get ready for work anyway! So, did my boss live up to my records?”

Omega let out a sarcastic laugh: “Live up to? He exceeded everything you’ve told me!”

“Well, then tell me about your idea!”

 

“No!”, I laughed, “this sounds too good to be true!”

A slightly confused Omega looked at me: “Why?”

“This idea of yours would hit every sensitive spot of my boss! And you’re really sure you can do everything you told me? I mean legally?”

“Well, as long as there is no evidence of a threat. No video cameras and so on…”

“No, there aren’t any! Let’s do this today! I’m not in the mood of another day with my boss and after this matter is solved, there’ll be a lot more time to get your mansion back. Wake Alpha and get ready!”

I couldn’t remember the day when I drove to work in a good mood. The radio was on maximum volume and I was happy to sing along with the Europe song that was currently playing. I got to the old warehouse even on time, parked the car and looked in the rear-view mirror: “Are you two ready?”

The answer were two diabolical laughs yet no bodies were in sight. 

Instead of my usual spot at the section for the extra heavy and unhandy items, I headed straight for the office. My boss was already sitting behind his desk, the usual cup of steaming coffee in front of him, when I closed the door behind me. He looked up. The moment he saw me, his calm expression drifted towards anger: “What are you doing here? Piss off, if you’re not here to apologize for your lazy and unspeakable behaviour!”

He yelled the last words. Still, those words couldn’t wash the smile off my face. 

“Hey, fuckface! What are smirking about! Want another double shift? Or another pay cut?”

“No! What I want is a compensation!”

“Are you kidding me! For what?”

“The bad working conditions and all the humiliation!”

“Do you have a proof? I bet not! Fuck off, or else I’ll get angry and fire you! I know how much you need that money, you piece of shit!”

“I’m not leaving unless you sign those papers!”

I slammed the said papers, Omegas work, on his desk.

He assessed the papers with this simple sentence: “What a fucking joke!”

“If I were you, I’d sign them!”

“And if I don’t? What will you do?”

“Who’ll make them stop?”

My boss looked at me in confusion: “Who is they?”

I shrugged my shoulders: “Dunno! Maybe the voices in your head! Your bad conscience!”

My boss only laughed.

But his laughter quickly faded. His hands shot up to his head and his mouth opened to let out a scream of agony, yet no sound crossed his lips. 

I remained at my spot and listed to whatever the two demons were doing with his brain. Omega had promised to let me be part of the thing, so, I was aware of everything Alpha and Omega did with my sweet boss. Since I had experienced something alike when their brothers, from whom Omega had gotten the inspiration for this, first welcomed me, I knew that this wasn’t anything pleasant. Usually, I was strictly against any form of torture but my boss just held a very special place in my heart. The three years of working here had been degrading enough. Time for a little repay. 

Mixing some of his worst fears - bankruptcy, public humiliation and apparently the fear of someone thinking he was of a soft nature - with a bit of poking here and there, a few scary noises mainly caused by Alpha and chiding him for all the things he had done to me really did the job. My boss looked downright terrified. After a while, he whimpered: “Please, make this stop! Please!”

My boss was begging! How brilliant was this?

“Sign the papers!”

“No!”

“Well, have much fun with those visions and voices!”

Eventually, he gave in and signed the papers warranting my compensation. I looked at the signature on the contract: 10,000,000 kronor! 

“Why don’t you give him that briefcase under your desk!”, a raspy yet invisible voice suggested. Again, my money-grubbing boss hesitated. Seconds later, he received a stentorian slap in the face. My boss now started to cry: “Yeah, here’s the damn case! Just go and please, never return! Please!” He handed me the black briefcase with shaking hands. 

“Bye! Nice to see you, my dear ex-boss! Take care!”, I said with a smirk on my face.

I was just about to open the door, when a few very rusty-sounding Swedish words echoed through the room: “And… watch out… for… ice… icebergs!”

 

I was driving through Linköping. 

“Hey Alpha, that was some nice advice for my boss! Seems like Titanic really must have left a lasting impression!”

“One… ca… can… ne… never… k… know! The… o… o… oceans… are… a… dan… danger… dangerous… place!”

“Alpha, that happened more than 100 years ago! Naval technology and ships in general have improved massively since then!”

“I… I’m… not… go… going… sailing!”, the smaller demon said stubbornly.

The black briefcase, that seemed to be floating in mid-air, rested on Omegas invisible lap. The bulky demon snorted: “Alphas totally afraid of water! One of the reason why this cheesy movie left such a lasting impression! Don’t ever show him anything like Waterworld or Jaws!”

“Hey… it’s… only… o… open… waters!”, the fiery demon protested.

I only shook my head and stopped the car in front of a big supermarket. I had promised the two demons to buy some of the good stuff, some real food and get a guitar catalogue on the way back home. 

I had also promised to do another thing…

Sometime later, I was on my way to the town hall trying to solve the legal matters concerning the ownership of the demonic mansion. 

Alpha stayed in the car, while Omega followed me invisibly. He probably knew the Swedish collection of laws better than I did. The woman, I was first sent to, thought I was joking.

“No, these are the real papers! Look at the watermarks and the signatures!”

She still didn’t believe me and called for another administration secretary. I ended up in the majors’ office. The major looked up from the documents I had handed him after having compared them with the counterparts the City of Linköping had received 160 years ago: “Where did you get these from?”

I shrugged my shoulder: “I was digging through some boxes that I inherited from my grandfather, you know, he sadly passed away quite some time ago, when I found these.” 

The major raised an eyebrow. I knew how weak this had sounded. 

“Listen!”, I continued the reassuring voice of Omega in my head, “these are the real documents and you know that. The juridical situation is quite clear.”

After that, I recited some paragraphs the major was quite keen to write down.

“…Copy and compare those papers! I’m sure you’ll need time for that! What about if I come back next week?” The major and his staff looked at me with big eyes.

“Okay?”

The major opened his mouth too taken by surprise: “…Okay!”

“Then until next week! Same day. Same time! And just that you know: this matter stays private! No media!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this is another plot-heavy chapter... But the smut is on its way... 
> 
>  
> 
> A lil' hint: Watch out for chapter 17


	15. The Bright Sides Of Life...

“Hey, how… d-d-did… it… go?”, Alpha asked the moment I opened the door of my car.

“Surprisingly well! I had great backup!”

I felt the car moving, when Omega let himself fall on the passenger’s seat. After I bought the last missing things, mainly a ton of different kinds of tobacco, we returned to my shoebox of an apartment. Getting the demons inside proved to be quite easily. Had I only known about that invisible thing the first time they had come here. 

Back in the apartment, Alpha and Omega were quite keen to try every kind of tobacco I had bought them and the apartment soon got quite smoky. 

After their urge for tobacco had finally been satisfied, their attention shifted towards the guitar catalogue. But while they were scanning through the pages, a thought crossed my mind: “Before you buy anything, did you ever play a guitar?”

Both shook their heads. On our way back to the apartment, we had constantly chatted about guitars. Both demons had been quite persistent that this would be the perfect position and instrument for them in the future band. Now, this whole conversation seemed odd to me: “Wouldn’t it be better to try it out first?”

I stood up and handed Omega my black Gibson SG after plugging it in and switching on a smaller amplifier: “Need any instructions or help?”

The taller demon only shook his head, grabbed a pick from the table and started tuning at high pace. I barely even realized that he had been tuning the guitar when he had already begun playing. Whatever he was playing sounded like very dark funeral music only at higher speed and much more elaborate and fuller. Then, it good odd. The piece of music somehow evolved into something that sounded like a strange mixture of said fast funeral music and Morbid Angel. And I had absolutely no fucking clue how he did that! Neither of the playing nor of the way he blended this two very contrasting genres of music. 

“Dude!”, I began after the last notes had faded, “this can’t be your first time strumming a fucking guitar! Where did you learn that?”

“I just did what felt right. Mixed some of the music Air usually plays on the organ with what I found on your electronic music player. It had the right feeli…”

“Hey! I… wanna.. try!”, Alpha shouted. 

“Be careful!”, was all Omega could say before the guitar disappeared out of his fingers. Whatever the pyromaniac was playing sounded like a weird merge of “My Heart Will Go On” and Mayhem. Somehow, these demons had a knack for combining very contrasting stuff to form a whole new entity. And it rocked and worked!

“And this really is your first time?”

“Natural talent!”, Omega replied with a smirk visible in his sparkling eyes.

“You have my full permission now to order whichever guitar you may desire!”

But their choice of guitar…

“Well, Gibson hasn’t produced one of these in years and they’re very hard if not impossible to find!”

Of course, they had come across the RD! The guitar of my deepest and darkest desires!

Omega looked at me and raised an eyebrow: “Really? I bet there are ways…”

“No!”, I interrupted him, “they are out of production and very rare! I bet you won’t get your fingers on...”

“Let’s make a bet! If I don’t manage to get them, you can ask us everything you want to and if we win, could you please get us some communion wafers and holy wine?”

“Can’t you get that yourself?”

“Nope! Our demonic state doesn’t allow us to enter these buildings. Unless it’s our kind of church.”

“And what are you plans with these things?”

“Just a small feast!”, Omega snickered, “nah, just kidding! We’re not planning on stealing and consuming that horrible disgusting stuff. We’re rather adding a few certain details to them and you’ll return them to wherever you took them from. Nothing more!”

“And what details would that be?”

“Just a bit of fun for the keen and obedient worshippers… Maybe a short vision of God’s true nature, listening to the priest’s naughty thoughts for a while, a fart during mass, the irresistible urge to sing lascivious tunes… Could be anything!”

“Sounds like something your brother would do…”

“Sure! But why not! Nothing bad will happen only a lot of confusion. Bet or not?”

I shook Omegas large hand and smirked: “From now on, I’ll be busy writing down questions! You have four weeks, maybe six if I’m nice!”

“We won’t need that much time! Excuse me now, I need to contact Gibson and order some guitars!”, with that, Omega grabbed my laptop and opened it. Alpha and I both watched him, as he cracked the security precautions with ease and scrolled a bit through the internet before starting to write a longer email with an account he had apparently created yesterday.

After a while, Omega looked up: “Is it okay if I borrow your mobile phone for this? I might need to talk to some people later.”

I shrugged my shoulder: “Since you already cracked the passwords of my laptop, why not? As long as you’re not doing something bad with it…”

Omega shook his hand and his attention turned back towards the laptop after having received my phone. 

“Hey, Alpha! Would you mind playing some more music for me? If you don’t want to, we could also watch Titanic for the third time…” Alpha had already begun strumming the guitar before I could finish my sentence. Seems like he wasn’t in the mood to become a weeping fountain yet again.

Not too long after, my phone started ringing. Omega simply received the call and started to talk in fast business-like English.

Alpha and I exchanged looks of confusion.

“Did you know, that he speaks English?”

“No!”, Alpha stuttered, “ab.. abso… absolutely... not!”

I wondered how much information, knowledge and whatever Omega had absorbed from the internet…

Well, and there was the conversation…

I had simply never heard anyone that convincing and professional. In the end, Omega had gotten the guitars of his desire or at least a confirmation that Gibson would indeed manufacture the instruments. Everything would be custom made. Therefore, Omega had dictated everything in detail. Beginning with the shape of the necks and ending with his expectations about the electronics. It was a long call…

“How the hell did you do that?”

Omega put the phone on the table and shrugged his shoulders: “I can be very convincing!”


	16. Theories And Bets...

“Seems like I should start looking out for a church! Any preferences? Methodist? Baptist? Plain Catholic? State Church? Or anything more radical or special?” And I had looked so much forward to drill them with questions…

“Man, did they splinter!”, Omega said while rubbing his head, “seems like we got more options choosing a fucking church than customizing a guitar!”

This comment earned him a mischievous chuckle by his partner in crime.

“Alpha, what do you think?”

“Catholic! They have… a…always been… the… most… fun!”

“Then Catholic it may be!”, Omega exclaimed. He looked at me: “Hey, we might have won but you can still drill us with questions if you want to. I don’t have any plans for today… Well, maybe except for a small celebration since you quit your job in style!” 

“Really? But I lost!”

“I think we owe you some explanations! We should have explained many things more while we still were in the old church. Please, go ahead!”

So, I went with the question that bothered me the most and had been lurking in the back of my mind since our first conversation: “Well, since the first initiation ritual turned out to be successful, what about the text step? You said there was more?”

Both demons snickered. 

“We knew that this question would come up”, Omega said while his eyes seemed to be sparkling, “well, since you already asked us about the mortality issue, the second initiation ritual would partially…”

“Wait, are there even more?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have allowed you to ask questions!”, Omega laughed, “a demonic spirit is merged with your body during the second ritual. But only after you’re proven to be worthy. This is the job performed by an impartial judge. Since contacting the judge and summoning the demonic spirit requires us five to be together and a special setup in our mansion, there is no way to perform it now. The third and last initiation ritual only unleashes the powers of the demonic spirit. You’d be one of us. Both can be performed together if the judge thinks you’re ready. Your predecessor didn’t prove to be ready yet. For neither. He never reached stage two. Immortality or at least a lifespan that correlates with ours is only reached at stage three. But only if you want to.”

“Are you kiddin’ me!?! Of course, I want to!”

“Hopefully not because of the powers you’d gain…”

“No! I wasn’t actually thinking about that! Rather about the perspective of being together with yo…”

“Really?”

“Yeah! In the last few days you have rather grown on me!”

I caught Alpha and Omega exchanging looks and continued: “Is that important?”

Omega looked at me: “If you’re only in it for the powers the judge will prevent any sort of rituals!”

“Well, I’m not!”

“Then, there is no need for you to worry!”

“But speaking of powers! What kind of powers are we talking about except immortality? Can I choose an element like yours?”

“Nah! One does not simply chose an element. At least, you’re not going to. It’s rather about the kind of leader you want to be: the great warrior, the spiritual leader, the peacemaker, the seducer, the tyrant, the wise man, the fool, the judge, the destroyer… there are many roles to choose off. But choose wisely. I don’t think the world is in need of another tyrant. Besides, I don’t think you possess the personality to carry a sword and slaughter innocent people. Well, you select your role before the third ritual. But please don’t tell us about your choice until the ritual is performed. This sounds like the perfect opportunity for us to gamble! And we aren’t supposed to know anyway!”

“Okay! Have fun gambling!”, I smirked.

“Now, it’s my turn! Why does humanity rely so much on coal and fossil oil instead of sustainable sources?”

“Because humanity likes to destroy this planet”, I blurted out, “nah, I don’t think they’ve developed the proper technologies yet.”

“What a pity”, a sassy Omega remarked.

“Then how do you like the modern life so far? Or do you wish the old days back?”

“Are you fucking kiddin’ me!”, Omega spat out, “fucking not! There’s so much more to connect with and explore! So many signals, messages and codes to crack! And the technologies and electricity! I wouldn’t wanna miss that!”

“Alpha, what about you?”

“Mhh… I wouldn’t… wanna… go back! No… telly… No… mo… movies… Now, it’s… my turn! What is… I… I… IKEA?”

“An enticing place to buy furniture that drives you mad while trying to assemble everything!”

“Sounds… like…a hell… lot… of… a… fun!”

“Yeah, Alpha! We should go there one day. You would love it! Now it’s my turn again! How comes, that all of you seem to understand everything I say yet only a fraction of you five can speak Swedish fluently?”

“That’s an easy and obvious one!”, Omega snorted, “at least if you understand our background! Which you’re currently lacking. So, let us enlighten you. But first take a guess: why do you think your predecessor summoned us?”

I thought for a moment: “Mhh… To protect them from other religi…”

“No, wrong!”, Omega interrupted me, “we did protect them to a certain extent but only later. Your predecessor originally summoned us to help them fight the harsh winters. One year after a particular bad harvest, the community found themselves close to starvation with most too weak to hunt. They became desperate and tried everything. Even the crazy ideas. Don’t ask me how the instructions came into their possession… They just were there and your predecessor successfully performed the ritual. Puff… we were there. We got them through the winter. Unfortunately, the developments that followed weren’t in our best interest…”

I raised an eyebrow: “How?”

“Well, the people began worshipping him like the almighty god. He really liked that. But what he liked even more was his newly gained position of power. He enjoyed every second of it and created this weird ritualistic person cult around him heavily distorting what our belief really is about. He loved being in charge and telling everyone what to do. Especially when it came to us since we couldn’t refuse…”

Omega took a deep breath before he continued: “It wasn’t supposed to be like that! Not in our opinion. At least he got denied any further ritual… Our message isn’t about oppression, cruelty and tyranny. But because of the nature of our summoning, we had to obey… He never saw our ‘human’ side. He never was interested in that. We were just his five little marionets from hell… He kept us separate from most people to prevent socializing. People weren’t supposed to see where his powers really came from. Some of them might realize that we weren’t that evil and thus lose their respect and fear towards our tyrant of a leader. Maybe he feared that one of us would blurt out the truth… There was a bunch of other reasons as well… Who knows what he was thinking…”

“That doesn’t sound too pleasant…”

“Cheer up! Better than being trapped”, Omega chuckled, “well, to continue: he told us what to do! Some commands were to secure his position of power. Fortunately, most tasks involved preparing for and getting the people through winter. At least, we could help the people. But we weren’t really allowed to socialize…”

“What did you do then?”

“Earth mostly was in the fields amplifying the plant growth. The only thing he picked up there were the cursing words from the farmers when he once again pranked them. Alpha here spent most of his time in the kitchen. Closely supervised by your predecessor, his abilities to talk were severely limited. Same goes for Air in the library taking care of the books and all legal matters. At least his written Swedish is pretty good…”

“But Water?”

Both Alpha and Omega laughed: “When he was not helping Earth with the plants, he was ordered to help the laundrywomen…”

“Ohh!”, was all I said.

“Yeah!”, Omega confirmed my tacit thought, “he was quite involved in all their gossiping. Being far away from your predecessor at the lakes, nothing prevented him and the women to tittle-tattle…”

“Despite his shyness?”

“Once he’s warmed up and surrounded by people he knows and trusts, Water can’t keep his mouth shut. Especially when it comes to gossip. Our little babbler…”

“And what about you?”

“He used me as translator. I was the fastest learner. Therefore, I was the communication link between him and my brothers. The only thing I was good for in his eyes since he deemed my powers useless and…”

“What? They’re certainly not…”

“His opinion”, Omega shrugged his shoulders, “I think he feared them the most and therefore prohibited me to use any. Well, and once we were trapped our ambitions to learn Swedish somehow faded… Too little of an outlook to get out of there I guess…”

“Luckily you were wrong!”

“Yeah!”, Omega said, “now it’s my turn! How far are humans away from teleportation?”

The questioning went on for hours. Back and forth! Then came the point, when I suddenly felt dead tired: “Hey, can we please stop this!”

“Tired of knowledge already?”, a cheeky Omega spat out.

“Nah, I can’t get enough of it! Honestly! But I think this has to wait for another day! Unlike you two, I need my beauty sleep…”


	17. Gravity...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, all the recent MCC and Priest developments put me in the right mood that I chose to update a bit earlier than usual...
> 
> It's finally here... Have fun with the smut...

But despite being dead tired, I couldn’t sleep. While my body was still recovering from that vicious double shift, my mind was working trying to process the ton of information. 

“Still can’t sleep?”, a raspy voice interrupted my thinking. 

I shook my head looking at the two demons floating cross-legged in mid-air. 

“Is there anything we can do for you?”, Omega asked.

Only in this moment, I realized how lonely I felt in my oversized bed. Something was missing…

“Do you want a tea or a sandwi…”

“No! I want your presence!”, I exclaimed once again without thinking.

After a long moment of hesitation, Omega cleared his throat: “With that, we can assist you! Move up the blanket, please!”

Seconds later, I was encircled by the two demons who were trying to make themselves comfortable.

“Well, I hope that’s not a problem for you… Sorry, if I said the wrong thing…”

I had seen the exchanging looks between the two demons. I’d bet my life that there was a special connection between the two of them. I had come to that realization the first time I met them. One of the reasons, I hadn’t dared to split them. I just didn’t want to get myself caught between them…

“Nah!”, Omega said before his warm torso came in contact with my bare back only a layer of black fabric, his cassock, separating us, “what else do you think we’ve done in the 160 years in that isolated fucking church? Would you like us to sing to you? To help you fall asleep?”

I nodded my head. 

The demons began to sing and soon lulled me towards sleep. My eyelids became heavier by the seconds while this strange unexplainable feeling emerged in abdominal area. But I was too tired to think about that. For the first time in years, I felt utterly secure…

 

The next morning, I woke up to somebody stroking my hair. My eyes remained shut to enjoy the feeling of fingers massaging my scalp for a little longer…

“Did you sleep well?”, a raspy voice asked, “I know that you’re awake!”

I began to whisper: “Shouldn’t we be a bit quieter since Alpha…”

“Don’t bother about him. A bit talk won’t wake him up!”

“Really?”

“Would you mind turning around? I prefer a good face to face conversation over backstabbing you!”

“But I wouldn’t want to miss this fantastic head massage!”

“Face to face it will be even better!”

“If that’s not…”

“You won’t wake him up! I promise! I know Alpha!”

So, I turned around. To my surprise, Omega was much closer than I had expected. He kept his promises: He continued the massage while Alpha stayed asleep. 

But to be honest, I was far too busy with Omegas hypnotizing deep blue eyes only a few centimetres away from my face to focus on his massaging fingers. While I drifted deeper and deeper in those mesmerizing endless layers of sparkling deep blue depths, the warm feeling I had felt the previous evening started to grow again in my stomach. Soon, the warmth and the tingle was spreading through my entire body…

I had never felt like this before…

Somebody must have noticed the roller coaster of my inner feelings: “Are you alright?”

“Sure! I…I…I….”

“Shhh!”, Omega whispered while his index finger slowly traced invisible patterns over my face stopping at my lower lip, “calm down. Breath! And then tell me!”

Easier said than done! Those enchanting eyes made it impossible to inhale a single molecule of oxygen. And then my body, well better my rather loose mouth, started to work on its own yet again: “I... I… I think… I lo-love you!”

“I know! I lo…”

“What!?!”

“Shhh!”, Omega again placed his index finger on my lips, “Alpha and I knew that there was this little spark inside you. A spark of love. And we were pretty sure it’s about us. We just…”

“Wait us?”

“I don’t think you’re just in love with me. I have this feeling that you’re drawn to the snoring mess next to you as well. Right?”

I thought for a moment not having considered that up to this point: “Actually… yes…”

“Let me explain this to you”, Omega whispered, “demons are very sensitive when it comes to sensing only the slightest spark of love. We knew the moment you saw us in the basement… Well, after the ice was broken and we had exchanged the first few words. You…”

“I hope I’m not putting anything between Alpha and you! You seem quite close…”

“Quite close”, Omega chuckled, “ever since we were created we’ve been together!”

My thoughts began to roll…

“I mean”, Omega clarified, “really together. We’re 100 percent complementary. Thus, one part can’t live without the other. Nothing will ever separate us!”

Now, I felt even more guilty…

And all of a sudden, I felt terribly cold…

“But”, Omega raised his voice and put a hand under my chin to raise my head so our eyes would meet, “what about adding a third party to the puzzle? You’re feeling it, Alpha is feeling it and I, too, feel it! And if there’s one thing you cannot deny, it’s true love! For sure, this’d make everything more interesting! Don’t you agree?”

“Yes”, I said quietly now more than happy. I moved closer to the tall demon who gladly put his large warm arms around me and continued the head massage.

“I hope I didn’t say anything wrong… Your feelings felt like a fucking rollercoaster”, Omega whispered, “I only wanted to set a few things straight. It’s just better if we all play with open cards.”

“Nah! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I’m just not used to openly talk about my feelings nor being close to anyone”, I whispered back, “but you’re making up for it with your presence and this incredible head massage.”

Omegas eyes sparkled with kindness: “It’s my pleasure!”

His warm fingers continued their pleasant work occasionally changing their direction and moving over my face causing a tingle that made me shiver in enjoyment.

“I only wish I could kiss you!”, I blurted out before having thought about those words. I really had been alone too long! My former shitty job and the failure at transforming my music into something I could live off didn’t make it any better. Well, and friends who thought I was crazy. A disconnected family… The list was endless.

“What makes you think we cannot do that?”

“The mask!”

“Fuck the mask!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger... 
> 
> I might have forgotten to add at the beginning that this will be a very slow burn... 
> 
> With the smut mixed with some plot stretching over the next 4-5 chapter...
> 
> And please be kind to me... It's my first real attempt writing something smutty...


	18. Surveillance...

“But…”

Omegas finger on my lips silenced me again: “Who’s going to see us here?”

“But you said…”

“I know what I said. But when I made that statement, I honestly didn’t expect that something like this would happen that soon!”

“But what if there is a curse…”

“There isn’t a curse!”, Omega snorted, “something like that is impossible! I know I said we aren’t supposed to reveal ourselves but in this case I think we can make an exception. First, who will ever find out and second, you’re our new Papa and will end up becoming one of us sooner or later. Why should you wait any longer…? And while we forgot about the Learning-How-To-Speak-Swedish-Part during those 160 years, we didn’t forget about another goal of ours…”

I wondered what that might be…

Before I could guess anything, Omega had already continued: “You’ll see, some of us were a bit more successful than others but at least all of us managed to get rid of the claws and the black skin colo…”

“Wait! You’re trying to look human…”

“Would you want to walk around with a mask on for all eternity?”

“Of course not…”

“See!”, Omega chuckled while his eyes were more sparkling than ever.

His large hands had massaged my head the entire time sending shivers down my spine. Lulled by Omegas words and his massage, my mouth began to work on its own again: “What I wanna see are your lips and after that I wanna feel them touch mine!”

“Go ahead!”

Very slowly, my hands moved towards the tall demons’ head. My fingers began exploring the black fabric of Omegas hood. After what felt like an eternity, I finally managed to push back the black hood. My fingers trailed over the fabric of a balaclava that was hidden underneath the hood further obscuring the demons’ hair. I found the laces that kept Omegas black mask in its place and slowly started to untie the knot. Thanks to my clumsy fingers, the knot stayed in its place.

After a while, Omega began to giggle: “For someone who’s that good at playing guitar, I hadn’t expected that! Let me help you!”

While I held the mask in place, Omega took care of knot himself. Seconds later, the mask was free to be moved. But before I could even move a millimetre, the demon had already tucked down the balaclava revealing short dark blonde hair. While one of my hands kept the mask in place, the other slowly made its way over the demons’ skull felling the thick hair between my fingers…

“Hey, you can move that mask down if you want to!”

I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet…

I continued to gently stroke Omegas hair massaging his head in return. Through the holes in the mask, his sparkling eyes locked with mine…

After some time, the hand holding the mask grew tired and heavy. Then, I finally lowered the mask…

What I saw, definitely surprised me…

From afar, no one would ever suspect Omega not being human. But since we were this close, it was obvious he wasn’t, with facial features too sharp for a human being and black veins shining through his pale skin. But beside that, Omega presented me with a wide warm smile that spread over his entire face. His deep blue eyes framed by prominent cheekbones and eyebrows sparkling with kindness…

The only things setting off about his appearance were three long slightly faded scars emerging from under the hair, stretching from the right side of his forehead through this right eyebrow, over his nose and lips and ending on the left side of his chin. Somebody must have taken a vicious swing at my dear ghoul…

But despite the scars, I couldn’t deny the beauty in front of me and the urge to feel those lips was more urgent than ever…

“You’re the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever met!”, were the only things that left my mouth that once again had acted on its own before I gently pressed my lips onto Omegas. Except for the lines of scars, this were the softest lips I had ever felt and I couldn’t get enough of them. Our bodies tightly entangled in a deep embrace. After we had exchanged a few innocent kisses, I realized that the both of us were desperately longing for more. My heart was beating heavily. I slightly parted my lips. Seconds later, I felt Omega doing the same. When our tongues first met, the contact send shivers through my body making my hair stand on end. Omega delicately tasted smoky with a hint of something flowery I was eager to identify. 

But before I was able to, Omega pulled away…

“Breath!”, he whispered with guilty yet caring deep blue eyes fixating me.

Only then I realized what I had been lacking for the last few minutes. I inhaled the oxygen eagerly and desperately tried to recover my breath as my heart was still pounding heavily. 

“So, I take it you like what you saw”, Omega assessed a smile visible on his face.

“Yes!”, was all I could reply still too taken from the kiss. 

Omegas smile only grew wider now revealing a set of sharp white teeth.

“You’re not afraid of this?”, he asked pointing towards his face.

“How could I possibly be afraid of a big teddy bear like you!”

In return, Omega only stuck his tongue out while I was busy thanking my loose mouth. 

Then, a movement caught my attention: “Wait! Do that again!”

Omega repeated. 

The front edges of his tongue moved in different directions...

“Is your tongue…”

“Split? Yes!”, Omega interrupted me, “I haven’t yet managed to do something about my teeth and tongue. But what do you think about the rest?”

“Absolutely breath-taking! Literally!”, I managed to get out, “I mean I love every bit of it, but what happened to your face? Those scars…”

“Let’s keep that for another Q&A”, Omega said warmly yet I sensed that this topic seemed to be an unpleasant one for him…

“And you taste amazing!”, I blurted out to avoid silence.

“Really?”, Omega raised his scar-streaked right eyebrow, “what do I taste like?”

“Mhhh”, I spoke while searching for words, “smoky and flowery! But I have failed yet to identify the specific flow…”

“It’s lavender”, Omega answered sheepishly.

Now it was my turn to be surprised: “Really? How do you know?”

“It’s what Alpha always says!”, Omega smiled. 

“I need to confirm that!”, was all I got out before our lips met again. But wilder than the previous time. While our tongues explored each other and I was indeed able to identify lavender, Omegas large hands moved over my bare torso. The contact of his energetic fingers leaving a feeling of sensation I had never felt before. 

My fingers, on the other hand, did their best to undo those large silver buttons that contrasted so very starkly with the deep black of Omegas cassock. Unlike with the laces of Omegas mask, I succeeded this time. Soon, my opposite was bare-chested, too. But Omegas sparkling eyes were just too enchanting to inspect the rest of the demons’ body. So, I left that part for my hands starting with his smooth back…

Well, not entirely… My hands soon moved over quite a few irregularities… Probably more scars…

As our kisses deepened and intensified, my fingers began exploring his front. I felt tough muscles underneath his skin and only wondered what they could really do when the hand on the left side of his chest suddenly came to a halt having found something I wasn’t quite able to identify. But I didn’t bother about whatever my fingers had come across. Identifying whatever they had found, meant ending the kiss. That was the last thing on earth I wanted to do right know. 

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder…

“How weird”, was all I thought upon first feeling it, “since when did Omega have three hands? But who knows what demons are really capable of?”

“Hey! Why… didn’t… you wake… me… up?”, a sleepy voice from behind of me began to speak in very rusty Swedish successfully parting Omega and me as we had both jumped in surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know... Some fluff, smut and plot... but we'll get there!!!


	19. Triangle...

“Fuck you!”, Omega snarled more than he groaned, “you sleep through everything…”

“You… two… are… w…w… worse… than… a… fucking ear…earth…earthquake! S…S… Seriously!”

I felt Alpha move behind my back probably rubbing his sleep heavy eyes…

“What… ex… ex… exactly did… I… interrupt?”

“You know exactly what you interrupted!”, Omega spat out.

“Dear brother, I… ho…ho… honestly… have… no… idea! Seconds… ago, I was… pe… peacefully… sl… sleeping… and… and… the next, the bed… is… fucking… vi… vibrating… w… w… waking up poor Alpha! L… L… Look me… in… the… eyes! I’m… telling… FUCK!”

Alpha had sat up during these last few words. Before, my body had blocked the view of Omega. Now, the Fire Ghoul was able to peer over me. Undoubtedly, he had spotted his unmasked brother. Even though Alpha was fully masked, I could see that his mouth was wide open in disbelief trying to process whatever was in front of him… I literally could see the wheels turning inside his head…

After what felt like eternity, the demon finally managed to put his dazed thoughts into words… The only problem: he spoke in his native demonic tongue… So, I was out again… But it seemed like the fiery demon couldn’t stop…

My eyes moved back and forth between the masked and the unmasked demon. Whereas Alpha seemed to talk himself more into rage, the smile on Omegas face only grew wider and wider. The tall bulky demon set up, too, and put a silencing finger on his brothers’ lips underneath his black mask. Now I could see, what my fingers had felt before: A line of five different symbols seemed to be etched in the left side of his chest representing the five elements with the quintessence symbols shining in an emphasised bright purple. 

But Omega left me no time to process the sight of his chest: “I think I’ve heard enough, Alpha! Calm down! Remember, we agreed on one, just one scenario that would justify unmasking! Right?”

“Yes, but…”, Alpha began.

“There is no but!”, Omega interrupted him, “THE very scenario occurred! Absolutely no need to argue!”

“You…”

“We only kissed! Should be more than enough to justify everything! Enough now! I think I need a coffee!”

“Me too!”, I quickly added.

“Alpha?”

“Mhh!”, the fiery demon mumbled.

Omegas feet soon touched the ground and he pushed himself off the bed. He quickly made his way to the small kitchen unit the half open cassock, held together by the sash around his waist and the lower still sealed silver buttons, fluttering behind him leaving a perfect sight of Omegas bear broad muscular shoulders and back. Well, to be honest I had been more occupied with the elegant movement of Omegas ass before I my eyes moved up…

“What the hell happened to your back!”, I exclaimed in shock of what I had just spotted.

“Oh, that!”, Omega sighed, turned his head around and pointed towards his back, “is nothing! Don’t wor…”

“Don’t worry!?!”, I snorted, “don’t tell me that! You can’t tell me there just happens to be a big cross, a Christian cross, of scars etched in the back of a demon from hell without a bloody good reason! So please, tell me why!”

Omega sighed loudly: “Okay! But only after the coffee is ready!”

Alpha and I watched him silently prepare the hot beverage…

Yet not entirely silent…

Alpha leaned over and whispered in my ear: “Ohh man! I… just… love… that… ass!”

He pointed towards Omega.

I couldn’t deny that point as the sight was rather intoxicating…

“I heard that, just that you know!”, Omega said while finishing the coffee. He turned around one mug in his big hand and lifted it up to his lips to take the first sip. Meanwhile, the two remaining cups were flying towards Alpha and me. 

“Careful, it’s hot!”, Omega warned me. Just how I liked it…

“Where… is… my… straw?”, Alpha asked his piercing eyes fixated on Omega who had just sat down next to me.

“Don’t know and don’t care”, Omega shrugged his shoulders and took another sip from his coffee clearly in delight, “just take the mask off…”

“No!”, Alpha protested, “what if…”

“Nothing has happened to me yet! Nobody has arrived yet to slaughter me! Nobody has forced me yet to put the mask back on! Alpha, I think you’re save to take it off!”, Omega cut him short while rolling his eyes.

“Okay! Okay!”, the fiery demon gave in, “Papa, w… w… would… you… p… p… please… hold… the… co… coffee… for… a… second?”

I smiled: “Certainly!”

Seconds later, Alphas steaming mug rested safely in my hand while Alpha after having pushed back his hood was already busy untying the laces of his mask. He pulled down his balaclava with one hand revealing blond short hair, yet slightly longer than Omegas and also brighter, while the other hand kept the mask in place. He clearly hesitated: “P… P… Please! Don’t… be… afraid! I… I… I…”

“Alpha, I don’t care what you are or what you look like! You wouldn’t be here if I had considered those things to be important…”, I tried to comfort Alpha.

“The reason why he’s hesitating”, Omega interrupted me, “is because he could have achieved more if he only had tried harder and had invested more time and effort to transform himself! Alpha, just get over with it! You still have plenty of time to work on yourself! And you heard our host!”

The smaller demon finally grumbled something and lowered his mask a forced smile on his face. It was quite obvious that he had spent less time on trying to look like a human. In comparison to Alphas overtly sharp facial features, Omega looked like a proper human being…

Besides that, Alphas skin colour appeared to be rather unnatural. Just too bright white to be natural. The pointed ears and razor sharp long fangs supported the picture…

I also spotted a few faded scars on both sides of Alphas face.

Still, I could appreciate the beauty in all the otherness…

“What… do… you… think?”, Alpha asked sheepishly.

I smiled at Alpha and handed him his coffee back: “Did you see me running away from you screaming in fear? No! You’re fine the way you are! That should be enough for now! Could we please turn back to our previous conversation… Omega, please tell me how those scars got on your back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short plot-driven chapter... But our dear Puppet Master and his twitter war had me occupied...
> 
> I promise that the smut will continue in the next chapter which should follow in the next few days!


	20. Trouble...

“Well”, Omega began, “when they killed your predecessor we weren’t present. He ordered us to go home since he didn’t want us to be present during a special meeting with his most trusted and devoted followers. We warned him that there might be someone after him but we wouldn’t listen. We had to obey his commands. Of course, they found him. We felt what was going on. We got there as fast as possible but something was hindering us… But when we arrived, he was already dead. Yet, we were still bound to his body… I can’t really explain why… They realized that, too… Eventually, they tried to send us back to hell and began attacking us. We only defended ourselves…”

Omega sighed and continued after a while: “Killing people is something we only do when there is no other way. And there was no other way… They tried to kill Earth, our weakest link, and they almost succeeded… And I lost control…”

“Something… he… usually… n… n… never… does!”, Alpha added.

“Well, I killed a few of the priests! No big loss to humanity to be honest. But soon, they recovered their powers… Killing our leader must have given them a certain level of control over us… At one point, we just couldn’t fight back anymore… Luckily, they couldn’t kill us… They decided to confine us to this place and made sure nobody would ever find us. But before they left us in those damned woods, they punished me for killing the priests. That’s where the scars are from… The choice of shape is obvious, isn’t it?”

“Does it hurt?”, I asked, “I mean you told me you can’t enter churches and wouldn’t a shape like this handicap you…”

“No!”, Omega laughed, “unfortunately for them, those fuckers forgot to bless those scars! Without the blessing, these are just scars… Fortunately for me, these means a lot less pain and trouble! I’m sure if they had blessed my back it wouldn’t be too pleasant.”

“Those scars in your face”, I began, “did they inflict them, too?”

A long moment of silence followed in which Omegas face hardened and Alpha, whose gaze moved to his feet, nervously began to fumble with his sash, while simultaneously turning very red…

“Yeah!”, Omega mumbled, “They had to knock me out for the scarring of my back. Must have happened then… I can’t remember!”

Somehow, I knew that this wasn’t the whole truth. Maybe this was a sensitive topic and I wasn’t eager to tear open old wounds: “Those bastards! Good thing, we got you out of this place!”

Upon hearing my words, both demons relaxed again thinking I hadn’t caught the lie…

Alpha finished his coffee and looked at Omega and me with sleepy eyes: “If… you… don’t… mind…”

I smiled: “Go ahead and take a nap! We’ll wake you for lunch!”

Alpha sank back on the mattress and immediately fell asleep.

Omega and I looked at each other.

“I don’t know how he does that!”, Omega said while shrugging his shoulders, “any ideas and plans ‘til we eat lunch?”

“I think I might take a shower”, I began without thinking, stood up from the bed and grabbed Omegas arm, “and you’re coming with me! Unless you don’t want to!”

“If you figure out a way to get us both in there…”

“Challenge accepted!”

I looked the door behind us and turned around. Omega had already undressed, leaving the cassock on the ground behind him and stood in the shower showing me his scarred back and that perfect ass… And he was impatiently waiting for me: “Let’s continue what we did before Alpha interrupted us!”

Suddenly, I felt nervous not really sure if I was ready…

Omega turned his head: “Are you coming…”

I pulled the shirt off me trying to shake of the nervousness, jumped out of my shorts and entered the shower closing its door. Omega and I now were very close and the nervousness was still there with my thoughts blinking repeatedly like a neon sign: “Two nude men in a shower! Don’t let the soap fall!” 

The water went on and Omega turned around. I fought the urge to look down…

“Nervous, are we?”, Omega said his eyes fixating mine while his fingers softly traced lines over my cheek, “don’t be! We’re only doing things the both of us are feeling comfortable about! Relax!”

With the water running over the two of us, I attempted a smile… According to the reaction of Omegas face, it was more of a grimace: “Relax! Since you seemed to enjoy that head massage so much, let me wash your hair! Please, turn around.”

Omegas hand grabbed a bottle…

I had to smile….

“That’s the reaction I was looking for! Finally, a real smile!”, Omega commented the movements of my face, “now please, tu…”

“I will!”, I smirked, “but you, my dear, are holding the shaving foam bottle in your hand. Unless you want to get rid of the untameable mess on my head, I suppose you use this!”

I pointed towards another bottle…

“Shampoo?”, he looked at me with a big question mark on his face.

“Yeah, it’s for washing your hair!”, I chuckled with returned confidence, “seems like you haven’t absorbed everything from the internet yet!”

The confusion in Omegas face transformed into a big smile: “I might have skipped cosmetics.”

He squeezed a reasonable portion of the shampoo in his massive hand: “Is that enough?”

“Yeah!”, I replied and turned around.

Seconds later, two big hands began massaging my scalp… slowly tracing lines through my hair sending shivers down my spine. The water running down my body did the rest… I got warmer and warmer… Slowly getting lost in the warmth and the sensitive movements of Omegas fingers… 

And indeed, I relaxed….

After a while, I noticed that Omega carefully began to wash out the foam from my hair, making sure nothing found its way in my eyes… His strong hands then trailed down my body… Carefully massaging my shoulders….

I honestly don’t know how long this went on…

Nobody had ever comforted me like this…

“Oh, Omega”, I groaned, “you’re good!”

“I know!”, he smirked. 

Then, one hand suddenly moved down my spine while the other massive one grabbed my bottom cheek: “And now it’s time for a little repay!”

My body tensed: “What?”

“Relax!”, Omega said highlighting his word with a smack on my ass, “now it’s time that you wash my hair!”

“But I’m a dwarf compared to you! How can I possibly rea…”

“Stop it!”, Omega smacked my ass again, “you’re not that small! You’re a giant compared to Earth!”

I turned around only to be presented with the shampoo bottle wiggling in front of my face. I quickly grabbed it and smirked equally, the warm water still running over our bodies: “Please, turn around!”

The tall demon gladly obeyed presenting me his bare wet back… And the scars… I had to touch them… My fingers soon moved over the bumpy tissue… From the left to the right shoulder… And from his neck all the way down to the demonic ass… And I had to agree with Alpha: Omegas lower part was just priceless… And something reacted to the sight in front of me…

“I thought you wanted to wash my hair!”, Omega brought me out of my rather erotic thoughts.

I quickly tried to recollect myself and squeezed some shampoo on my hand. I carefully began to distribute it on Omegas head and started massaging his thick hair…

Well, that was easier said than done since the demon really was remarkable taller… 

I moved closer…

Only centimetres parted us and I began my work…

Omegas thick hair felt so smooth between my circulating fingers…

Something in me reacted… 

This time only stronger…

“Good to know that our new Papa gets turned on by shampooing hair”, Omega suddenly chuckled.

I looked down. Parts of me really liked what I had been doing and therefore, had risen which led to the contact of a certain body part with the upper part of Omegas thigh since only centimetres parted our bodies…

“Sorry!”

“Don’t say that! Feelings are feelings! You can’t deny them”, Omega ensured me, “and if I were you, I’d continue my work or else the shampoo will have reached my eyes!”

I continued my work, washing out the shampoo trying to ignore the increasing heat in my lower half. Soon, I was massaging those broad muscular shoulders in front of me not paying attention to my own body anymore.

When my fingers began feeling tired, I smacked the ass in front of me: “I think we’re done!”

“Thank you!”, Omega smiled brightly when he turned around, “thank you for taking care of my hair! But before we exit this shower, I think there is something else we need to take care of!”

He looked down…

On my more than prominent erection…

But I had been teased way too long to turn red or feel uncomfortable about my member... And my mouth began to work on its own again: “But before you take care of the thing down there, I demand a kiss! A real kiss!”

Omegas head moved up again. Our eyes locked. The demon smiled mischievously looking down on me: “I’m afraid, you’re too hard to reach! Too short!”

I snorted: “When you told me to shampoo your hair, the height difference didn’t matter!”

“Do you trust me?”, the demon asked, “I think there is a solution that will fulfil all our needs!”

I smirked: “Of course I trust you! But please, hurry! I’m in desperate need!”

Omega stepped forward, put his arms around me and lifted me up against the wall like I weighed absolutely nothing. Out of instinct, I tugged my legs around his torso and my arms around his head. My fingers almost automatically began to massage his head. Meanwhile, my little friend down below enjoyed the pleasure of being pressed against the demons’ belly… only increasing its size because of the delicate flesh it was rubbed against…

“First problem successfully solved! Don’t you agree?”, Omega began, his eyes more sparkling than ever and filled with lust, “we’re eye to eye n…”

Before he could even finish, I had already pressed my lips onto his. With our eyes still locked, I saw his eyes widening in surprise at my sudden move. My tongue pushed against his lips demanding entry which he quickly granted, the surprise in his eyes turned back to lust. His split tongue soon caressed mine causing not only the rate of my heartbeat to increase…

“So, we kissed now! Another problem successfully solved!”, Omega used my attempt to get some oxygen back in my lungs after a particular long and deep kiss, “do you want me to take care of the last problem?”

“Yes, please!”, was all I could say still gasping for air.

“Really?”, Omega toyed our eyes still locked and water running over our bodies.

“Please!”, I begged, “do it! Now!”

Then, I finally felt what I had desperately wished for: Omegas soft warm fingers made their first contact with my waiting length… Slowly tracing lines over the longing flesh.  
I let out a few loud moans.

“Shhh!”, Omega whispered, “we don’t want to wake dear Alpha! I think I’ll give the mouth of yours something to do!”

With that, he moved forwards and pressed our lips back together again while his hand enveloped my length completely, softly massaging the flesh… His grip soon got firmer and the movements deeper and wilder… On both fronts!

Then, his lips broke away from mine, only for his tongue to trace down my neck, stopping at a delicate point…

I just couldn’t stand that: “Please, more!”

Omega gladly obeyed and began to suck… 

Apparently, my moans were too loud again, he quickly stopped and pressed his lips back on mine. Meanwhile, his hand around my dick worked magically increasing its speed and intensity…

I was so close now…

Something had built up in me that desperately wanted to be released…

Our kiss broke: “I think I’m coming!”

Deep blue eyes looked at me: “Then come for me!”

Omegas hand moved quickly giving me an intense experience. Being so close to the edge, my eyes rolled back…

“No!”, Omegas movements suddenly decreased, “I want you to look me in the eyes when you come for me!”

I don’t know how I did it, but somehow, I forced my eyes back down locking with the sparkling deep blue ones in front of me…

Seconds later, Omega brought me over the edge. My whole body began to shake uncontrollably while spilling myself all over Omegas belly…

The demon only smiled!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware... The smut isn't over yet...


	21. Repay...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start reading, I suggest you to listen to MCC's new song 'The Demon King'...

“Sorry, for the mess I made of you!”

Omega snorted: “The last time I checked, we were still in the shower! Are you okay?”

I was still catching my breath… 

Omega silently caressed my cheek…

After my breathing had almost returned to normal again, he asked: “Feel strong enough to stand on your feet again?”

I nodded. Omega carefully let me down. He grabbed my arms tightly as my legs still felt like a wobbling mess underneath me. I was more than thankful for that…

After a while, Omega raised his scar-streaked right eyebrow: “Are you alright?”

I smiled: “Secure on the ground… With both feet… I think you can release me now!”

Omegas hands left my shoulders. Still, I didn’t dare to move yet again. Instead, my eyes followed the movements of the demons’ hands. While one moved towards the shower head, the other moved towards the mess on his belly and then towards the demons’ mouth… 

“If you wouldn’t eat that much ready meals and fast food, you’d taste better!”, Omega remarked chidingly.

I didn’t know what to say, to taken by my opposite and the spectacle in front of me…

“Really!”, he emphasized while cleaning himself and putting the shower head back in place. 

He was about to cut the water off, when I stopped him: “No! I think we’re not done yet!”

I sank on my knees.

“Are you sure?”, a worried Omega asked.

I looked up: “Yeah, why not! Besides, I feel the urge to repay you properly…”

“Have you ever done this?”

“There is always a first time! And now, shut up!”

“But…”

I silenced the demon by grabbing the length in front of me and placing a delicate kiss on its tip causing Omega to let out a rather audible moan.

“Who’s the loud one now!”, I smirked, “I thought you didn’t want to wake dear Alpha?”

“Very funny…Ohhh!”

I silenced the demon with one swift stroke. 

To be honest, I had no idea what I was really doing. But when my eyes had followed Omegas hand, they had also caught sight of something else… Something remarkably well-built… After seeing that, my instincts had taken over control of my body… Deeply desiring one thing: Omegas dick in front of me…

As my strokes became deeper and wilder, the flesh in front of me hardened and began rising up…

There was no need to think for long. I simply opened my mouth and moved forwards to receive the gift in front of me. My tongue soon encircled his thick shaft while my hand did the rest. Omega above me transformed in a moaning mess.

Then, without warning, his body began to move. I looked up: “Are you okay?”

“You’re fucking killing me!”, Omega groaned, “you’re sure this is your first time doing this?”

I looked up as he moved his back against the wall to secure his standing with one hand searching for support at the structure that held the shower head in place. 

“Natural talent, I guess! Do you want me to continue?”, I teased.

“Nah, I think I forgot my morning prayer! Want a confession? I’ve been a bad, bad boy fath…”

Without a warning, I pushed his dick in my mouth again, only deeper, and began to suck intensively. 

Omegas head shot back in ecstasy: “Unholy Lord!”

Omegas hips bucked, causing me almost to gag. But only almost. I continued my work. Sucking, pumping and squeezing his balls bringing the demon closer to the edge. The tremble of his knees only caused me to suck harder… Leaving its affects…

From somewhere above me, Omega moaned: “I’m close! I’m coming soon!”

“Come for me, Omega!”

My mouth engulfed his hardness again, sucking like my life depended on it.

“You… you don’t… have to… do this!”, Omega managed to get out between all the moans, looking down on me with sparkling eyes.

The answer were a few firm strokes and squeezes causing the demon to throw his head back again and cursing in his language…

A few seconds of my treatment more, and the demon and his friend began to twitch uncontrollably and I tasted the first offshoots of the delicate hot liquid I had desperately yearned to receive. Then, without a warning, a large torrent flooded my mouth. Valiantly, I tried to get the situation under control, swallowing as much of the delicious liquid, again bearing a smoky yet salty undertone mixed with some more lavender, as I could… But it was just too much and soon, streams of thick liquid were running down my face…

Two strong hands cupped my face, pulling me up on my feet again. Omegas lips shot down onto mine.

Soon, I was gasping for air again. 

“You did absolutely beautiful!”, Omega smiled widely while cleaning my face. He put the shower head back in place again and finally switched off the water. 

I smirked: “I never knew showers could be that exciting!”

The both of us stepped out on the cold tilework.

“But only with the right company!”, Omega added, “let me dry the mess on your head!”

I turned around to face the demon watching him as he rubbed my hair dry.

When he lowered the towel, signalizing that he had finished, a question shot through my mind: “May I ask you something?”

Omega smiled softly: “Of course!”

I took a look down at Omegas impressive length and looked up again locking my eyes with the deep blue crescent moons: “Are all demons that well-endowed?”

My opposite let out a hearty laugh: “Certainly not! With us, it’s the same as with human beings: some are equipped opulently while others simply aren’t. Guess, I got lucky! Well, you can’t complain either!”

“Nah, I’m pleased with what I have!”

“Speaking of being pleased”, Omega chuckled, “care to know a secret?”

“Is this by any chance about someone not being satisfied with himself?”

“How did you know that?”, Omega chuckled while pretending to be totally surprised, “wanna guess the person I’m talking about?”

“Of course!”

“Well”, Omega began dramatically, “once upon a time there used to be five ghouls confined to a remote church deep within the woods… Sounds familiar?”

I nodded my head.

“Since there was so little to do, the five ghouls decided to focus their energy on one task: trying to transform themselves to look human… Just in case they should ever get out of there… Four did their best to focus on the task, while one had something else in mind!”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Since our appearances proved to be changeable, he had the brilliant idea that something else must be modifiable as we…”

“I hope you’re not talking about Earth trying to become a giant!”

“No! The ghoul I’m talking about tried everyth…”

“Wait! Let me take a guess!”

“I’m fine with that.”

“We’re clearly talking about somebody with issues! Air doesn’t strike me as someone lacking self-confidence. Same goes for Earth despite his short nature… Water… Well, Water… I don’t think he’d try something alike… he’s too shy for that”, I thought loudly tapping my lower lip, “this clearly calls for someone with weird quirks and issues… I know I haven’t seen the others yet, at least not for longer, but… did Alpha achieve his goal?”

Omega chuckled: “What gave him away?”

“Clearly those icebergs!”, I laughed, “did he succeed?”

“If you ask me”, Omega blinked, “no! He only wasted his time and energy… But since he keeps on bragging about his so-called achievements, I always agree politely preferring to leave his ego unharmed! Don’t tell him that!”

“I won’t!”, I promised. 

All the time talking had dried my skin. I grabbed a pair of fresh shorts and put them on. I heard a few buttons snap shut. I looked up only to see Omega showing me his scarred back closing the last buttons of the lower half of his cassock now ending at the level of the demons’ navel. The upper half had disappeared mysteriously. With one swift movement, the demon turned on his heels, beginning to tuck the sash around his waist. The lamp above him highlighted the scars in Omegas face…

Before I could help myself, my mouth had already begun to blurt out: “Those scars… who caused them for real?”

Omega froze. His face hardened…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the plot... At least for a few chapters... 
> 
> But don't worry, the smut will continue!
> 
> Did you listen to MCC? That's what I've been doing the last few days and I still can't stop!!!


	22. And Revenge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellloooo... I thought I might update a bit sooner than usual since I don't know if I'll have time to do so during the next week...
> 
> Ghost's keeping me busy with their tour...

While I cursed my loose mouth, I tried to save myself: “Sorry, I spoke without thinking… I… I… I…”

I was hitting myself mentally with a baseball bat for destroying this perfect moment we had shared: “I… My mouth… worked on its own… I’m really, really sorry! I know… this is a rather sensitive topic… This will be the last time I ever ask this… You don’t have to answer me…”

Ashamed, my head shoot down staring at my own bare feet…

“Hey!”, a raspy voice finally said, “what gave us away?”

“What!?!”, blinked through my mind… 

That came unexpected…

“I… I don’t… know… Your explanation… and your whole… demeanour… didn’t feel… right”, I stuttered.

“Oh!”, Omega chuckled, “I always had my doubt in this story… Was it really that easy to see through?”

My mind was struggling to process everything: “From my perspective, yes… but why are you laughing? I thought… I… You…”

I felt a warm hand under my chin lifting up my head. His face luckily had softened again…

Omega smirked while pointing towards his face: “What made you think I’m feeling uncomfortable about these scratches?”

“I… I… ehh…”, I stuttered out of words to describe my rushing thoughts.

“I don’t give a damn about those scars! Really! Besides when looking in the mirror, I don’t have to see them anyway and I honestly don’t find them that unappealing! I could be worse”, the demon tried to assure me, “like missing teeth, having a boozer’s nose...”

Omega continued to enumerate…

Meanwhile, my mind was working a thousand miles an hour… 

I believed Omega… He didn’t strike me as someone with self-esteem issues… But why the tense feeling back there while drinking the coffee…

And then, my mouth – I could hit myself again – blurted out: “Then why did Alpha do this to you?”

Omega stopped midsentence and gazed at me his mouth open wide…

His lack of words made nervous again: “Omega, I’m sorry… I can’t tame my tong…”

“Shhh!”, Omega silenced me and whispered, “good to know that our new Papa is such a sneaky smartass of a bastard! I’ll tell you! Under a few conditions! But first, I need to know if our fiery friend is still in the la la land of dreams!”

Omega headed for the door and opened it slightly only to, seconds later, shake his head and whisper: “Absolutely fucking hopeless!”

“What?”

Omega signalised me to come closer and fully opened the door: “Unbelievable! I was sure he heard us… But look at this!”

With all limbs stretched out as spacious as possible, the Fire Demon was snoring peacefully, his mouth lolling open-wide to reveal his sharp set of teeth and his pink split tongue… Well, and streams of saliva swamping the poor sheets underneath him…

Omega again shook his head and closed the door: “Sometimes, he’s driving me nuts! Where was I… Yeah, I’m telling you how these scratches found their way on my face… But…”

I jumped.

“… you must never show, tell, write or signalize Alpha in whatever way that you know! A long time ago, we promised to never tell anyone! But since you sneaky bastard figured it out yourself… Let me begin with a question: What would you do if someone locked you up?”

I shrugged my shoulders: “Trying to get out?”

Omega smiled: “Yeah, we did that, too! Didn’t work! Some obviously took it better than others… While I tried to calm and cheer my brothers and told them to focus their hope on the loophole, you know those maps, Alpha became very frustrated… And at a certain point rather furious…”

“But why?”

“That’s Alphas way of dealing with things… Instead of accepting the situation and hoping for a wonder, he locked back and searched for ways how WE could have changed our fates…”

“But YOU had to…”

“…Obey our master! Yes!”, Omega confirmed, “The same as we couldn’t stop those Catholics from locking us there… Sometimes, you just don’t have a choice… Despite the many times I tried to reason with Alpha, he wouldn’t listen nor understand… And one day, we stood face to face… I calmly tried to reason with him after one of his outbursts and he just snapped and exploded… And he hit me…”

“I knew it…”

“Knew what?”

“You would never let an enemy of yours that close… It had to be someone close to you…”, our eyes met, “did you fight back?”

“No!”, Omega said quietly, “I just stood there, blood running over my face blurring my vision, and couldn’t believe what just happened… All of us stood there in shock… I barely even recognized Alpha turning on his heels and disappearing in the darkness…”

Pictures of horror flooded my mind trying to imaging those heart-breaking scenes of gore…

“As you can imagine”, Omega continued, “things got complicated… Air helped me to take care of those wounds… But afterwards, everyone needed time to process everything, make up their mind and decide which side to choose…”

Omega sighed: “It was a lonely time… Pretty desolate... No one spoke… It took months, ‘til Air out of all finally made the first steps… He just stood behind me and asked, how those wounds were healing… He didn’t mean the physical ones… Weeks maybe even months later, Earth and Water joined us…”

“What about Alpha?”, I asked hating myself for torturing Omega with those words.

“Well, we hadn’t spoken nor seen each other in years… Which is, let me tell you, a pretty hard thing to achieve on such a small piece of land… One day and totally unexpected… Well, I was walking along the borders of our property… He just jumped into my arms and broke down in tears which only got worse when he saw my face for the first time… I forgave him… Things slowly normaliz…”

I had observed Omegas movements closely: “That’s not the whole story! What about those scars on Alphas face?”

Omega locked at me baffled: “Initially, he asked me to repay him equally… You know, an eye for an eye… Get my revenge… I refused! Those scars on the sides of his face… He inflicted them by himself… Out of desperation… He couldn’t bare the sight of my face without being punished equally!”

My eyebrows shot up: “Did he always have these quirks?”

“Jep! They only increased over the years… If Alpha wants to, he can be unbelievably stubborn and persistent…”

My mouth reacted without a warning: “Then what stopped Alpha from demanding his desired punishment?”

Omega shook his head utterly stunned: “You’re a sneaky bastard, Papa! You caught me again! Seems like no lie not even the smallest and most trivial half-truth is safe from your observance!”

“Did you grant his wish?”

Omega turned red: “Yeah, but in an, at least for Alpha, unexpected way…”

“What did you do?”

Omegas gaze shoot up to the ceiling while his foot stomped nervously on the ground: “I might have immortalized myself somewhere… Marked him as mine…”

“What?”, I laughed.

“I carved my fucking symbol into his ass!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enough of the Alpha and Omega drama...
> 
> The next chapter will be a lot more cheerful!


	23. Dress-Up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo!!! A bit of light-headed stuff between all the drama going on lately! I haven't decided yet, if all this is going to impact the story... At least not the next 6 chapters...
> 
> I'm continuing to support the music (hopefully the next record keeps up with the rest) but not the man behind the mask! Sorry, but it wasn't him that got me interested in the band and hooked! That credit goes to Omega who stomped like a madman in front of me at my first ritual! I just wish the best to all parties involved!
> 
> The concert a couple of days ago was amazing! Those new ghouls are really giving their best and especially Fire and Aether were super nice to us when we met the after the show! Well... Papa is a different story... He was nice though but seemed so far away...

I tugged my arms around Omegas torso: “That’s a fantastic fucking story! Well, you only did what he asked for!”

“Yeah!”, Omega replied while the redness in his face slowly faded, “still pretty ridiculous if you ask me… At least he stopped asking me for his punishment!”

“If you’d ask me, I’d say mission successfully completed!”

Omega snorted: “Just never tell Alpha! And honestly, you really need to do something about your loose mouth! I’d bet, with my life at stake, that this has caused you more trouble than I can possibly imagine, right?”

I only smiled back…

“Nevertheless, please try to curb it during your meeting with the major in a few days. We cannot afford to loo…

My stomach roared interrupting Omegas lecture.

“Screw this!”, Omega laughed, “let’s eat!”

 

A few days later, I was getting ready to leave for my appointment with the major of Linköping. Omega stood in front of me tying my tie. He had insisted that someone as ‘important’ as his Papa shouldn’t show up at a meeting as crucial as this while dressed in mostly torn and faded old clothes… 

Still, I thought that this new rather fancy three-piece suit was a bit over-the-top… 

But Omega had been very persistent and in a shopping spree… 

My old lemon of a car had finally been replaced by a new black bus, more than spacious enough for the six of us, once the three remaining demons were free…

Besides, my apartment got filled by a flood of packages of various sizes and contents… Making the space feel even more cramped than before…

I jumped when the doorbell rang for the first time and the first bunch of packages got delivered… Of course, all in my name…

“Who the hell did order these?”, I pointed towards the boxes asking a seemingly empty room after the poor guy delivering the packages had left, “what is in there and how did you pay for this?”

“Well I did”, a raspy voice echoed through the room and seconds later, Omega became visible again. He grabbed a package and began to open it: “I ordered some electronics… I was tired of using your laptop and phone… There should be more on the way arriving in the next few days…”

I looked up from a particularly big and heavy box: “I only hope you didn’t order any of these prehistoric tube TVs…”

“Nope, only the latest shit!”, Omega smiled, “the box in front of you should contain an amp… I might have ordered some music equipment as well… Stuff to record properly… Some amps… Guitars… Bass guitars…”

“Omega, stop!”, I exclaimed, “how did you pay for all this stuff?”

The tall demon shrugged his massive shoulders: “Some offshore accounts I opened…”

“Really? Among the first things you’re doing, after being locked away for 160 years, are password cracking, hacking, blackmailing Gibson, internet shopping, screwing with my ex-bosses brain and opening offshore accounts?”

“Yep!”

“Then”, I began with my eyes fixated on the tall demon, “please, whatever you’re doing, don’t get caught!”

“I know what I am doing!”

“Tell me, where’s the money from?”

Omega laughed: “Only from people who have so much money they won’t miss it… And before you’re asking, the transfers are untraceable! Trust me, I know what I’m doing!”

I smirked: “So, you’re stealing from the rich and helping poor people like me? Omega, you sound like a fucking Robin Hood!”

“Since… when… is Omega… a fox?”, a voice in rather rusty Swedish interrupted our conversation. Both Omegas and my head turned towards the bed where Alpha was lying.

“Ser… Seriously, I want… you… to… take me… to the… z… z… zoo”, the smaller demon continued, “and… see… the… tal… talking… animals!”

Both Omega and I rolled our eyes… 

Maybe I shouldn’t have shown him these old Disney movies… Ever since watching them, Alpha was deeply convinced that mankind had bred animals that could talk and desperately wanted to see them. I had tried to help Alpha improving his Swedish… Movies proved to be quite an efficient method… Only problem: lack of Swedish synchronisation… Until I remembered those old kids’ movies… Unfortunately, Alphas imagination went haywire… And in the completely wrong direction….

“Alpha, one last time: there are no talking animals! It’s only a metaphor!”

“Then… order… one… of… these… f…flying… um… umbrellas… for… me!”, 

Omega sighed: “Unlike Titanic, Mary Poppins is not real either! Alpha, get it in your brain: some movies are real while others aren’t!”

“But… how… do… I… know…”

“Research…”

Before Omega could say anything else, the doorbell rang again… More packages…

After the deliverer was gone again, I looked at Omega: “I hope you’re not drowning us in this stuff?”

Omega smiled mischievously: “Once we got the mansion back, space shouldn’t be a problem! I only wanted to get ahead with assembling all the stuff we need to record properly!”

The next few days, more and more packages arrived… Amongst all the stuff were some pretty nice, expensive looking clothes for me. Upon asking, why the demons hadn’t ordered any for themselves, Omega told me, that demons could transform their cassock in any piece of clothing they desired… But only for themselves…

Omega finished my tie… I was ready to go now…

I looked at the demon: “Thanks for the suit!”

“You’re welcome!”, the tall demon replied with a warm smile. He, too, had dressed up… But differently to match the balaclava and the black mask he was about to put on. He really rocked those tight black jeans, big boots and the black button-up combined with a light black hoodie for the mask and a leather jacket on top.

Omega had just finished putting every part of his clothing and mask in place, when the bathroom door opened…

“You’re not wearing this!”, both Omega and I exclaimed in unison.

“But…”, Alpha began to protest.

Omega cut him short: “Alpha, you look like a clown! You can’t show yourself like…”

“But…”

“Shut up! We don’t know if the plan is going to work! Possibly not! And if that’s the case, I don’t want to make a fool of myself because of YOUR outfit! Get changed into something else! Remember, it’s winter! No beach or summer clothes! Take me as an example!”

A cursing Alpha left the room… Luckily, we still had plenty of time left…

I looked at Omega: “Seriously, a blue Hawaii-shirt with pineapple print, bright orange surfing shorts with a floral print, green sandals and a cap that says ‘Violent Gentlemen’?”

Omega shrugged his shoulders: “Could have been worse than him replication the Beach Boys!”

“What do you mean? Alpha in knights’ armour after having seen this Heath Ledger movie, him dressed in a green one-piece like Borat or a pink princess dress like Beauty and the Beast?”

“For example!”

“This must be a joke!”

Omega laughed: “Alpha and clothing is something that doesn’t get along very well… At least not from everyone’s but Alphas perspective… If he sees something he likes, no matter the gender, era or Satan knows what, he’ll try to wear it… Take a few examples: he tried to introduce us to pink robes more than once, showed up in those horrible Shakespearean tights or failed at convincing Air that dresses were the new way to go… Keep yourself prepared for whatever he’s wearing next! 100 kroner he’s kept the sandals!”

“100 kronor he’s kept that Hawaii-shirt! Omega, seriously, how can somebody have that many issues?”

“Everyone as issues!”

“But you…”

“I have my own quirks, too! Just think about it, and tell me what you figured out! Trust me, at least I have no problem talking about them!”

My mind began to race while I tipped my lip thinking to myself: “Omega… Omega… reveal yourself to me….”

“Found something?”, the tall demon interrupted my thinking.

“Ehhh…”, I began to stutter and then simply handed over control to my loose mouth, “you’re utterly obsessed with technology, deeply despise filth and disarray and consequently can’t help yourself but to clean it… hinting maybe towards some OCD… Well, I saw you cleaning this apartment at least five times since you first got here… You can’t stand touching things, hence why you tend to levitate most things… At least when no other people are around… And you have this control issue… Perceptible in the way you try to improve my diet and the meticulousness you showed while planning my upcoming meeting with the major…”

“Exactly!”, Omega smiled, “I’d 100% agree with your observance!”

“But doesn’t it…”

“I don’t have a problem with those quirks! They’re part of my personality, yet I’m 100% aware of them and not ashamed of myself unlike…”

He was cut off by the opening bathroom door…

My elbow hit Omegas ribs: “I think you owe me 100 kroner!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, if my depiction of Alpha maybe went a bit over the top...


	24. Diplomacy and Keys...

“You’re not going to show yourself unless you really have to”, I looked in the rear-view mirror to get a better look at the smaller demon, “and Alpha, if that should be the case, let Omega do the talk, please!”

Alpha grumbled something unintelligible… 

I shot a glance at him…

At least, Alphas second fashion escapade had been more satisfying after taking Omega as an example… Sure, he had kept the cap and put a floral touch to the pineapple print of his Hawaii-shirt, but at least the rest looked a lot more like winter and less off-setting… 

“Alpha, please”, I repeated.

“What… do… it… get?”

“You’ll get your home back!”, Omega snorted, “that should be enough!”

I ignored the tall demon next to me: “Alpha, you can choose between watching more Disney movies or a visit to the zoo. Is that enough?”

Alpha let out a euphoric sound: “Uhhh! Finally… talking… animals!”

“Good to know that you’re so easily corruptible, Alpha!”, Omega assessed sarcastically.

 

A few minutes later, the major of Linköping and I were shaking hands again. He offered me the chair opposite of himself. The two administration secretaries from last time were present as well, while my two invisible demons should have made their way into the majors’ office, too.

“Mister!”, the major brought me out of my thoughts, “despite the short amount of time, we have checked those papers thoroughly. We think those indeed are the originals...”

“Great!”, I smiled, “then the matter is solved, right?”

The major shot a rather angry glance at me: “I hadn’t finished yet, mister! I’d appreciate if you let me finish without any further interruptions. Like I said before, the watermarks, the age of the paper, the handwriting and the content of your papers match the ones we received 160 years ago. But we cannot simply hand you the keys…”

A baffled me continued to listen to his enumeration of reasons why he couldn’t give me that damned key…

I honestly didn’t know how long this went on…

“Mister Major”, I began when he had finally finished, “let’s be honest! Most of your arguments are pretty weak! I have the original papers. They’re real, so no need to argue about that…”

“But…”

“Your main point”, I continued without paying attention to his words, “is this little paragraph on your papers… Right here…”

I pointed towards said passage.

“…that says ‘whoever shall claim said property must have the previous owners’ permission to obtain the right to own’ and so on”, my eyes fixated the major, “don’t you think that this reason is a bit farfetched to deny me the keys since those papers were handed to the City of Linköping 160 years ago and whoever wrote them has been dead for long?”

The argument went on and on until the fist of the major hit the desk with a loud smack: “Enough! I’ve heard enough! One last time: I will not hand you the keys for St. Mary! This definitely is not in the previous owners’ interest and…”

“Mister Major”, I interrupted him with a wide smile, “I wished there was no need for this, but what if this is exactly what the previous owners wants? What if they want me to obtain the ke…”

The major laughed: “You said before they cannot be alive…”

“Unfortunately for you, I am”, a raspy voice from the chair next to me said.

The major jumped as Omega turned visible while the two administration secretaries let out sounds of surprise mixed with disbelief, fear and wonder…

Omega only gave them a swift wink and continued to address the major like nothing had happened: “Mister, could you please tell me the names of the persons who signed those papers?”

“Wha… What?”, the major stuttered his eyes opened-wide in shock.

“The names of the persons who signed those papers”, Omega repeated calmly, “please!”

“It.. it… The documents… bear the si… signature of a… Mister Air.. a… and… a… Mister… Omega…”, the major managed to get out.

Omega moved up slightly and offered the befuddled major his massive hand: “Then I have to introduce myself as the latter! I’m said Omega!”

“But”, the major stuttered while bravely taking and shaking the hand in front of him, “this… is… imposs…”

“I know”, Omega chuckled, “I should be dead… But long story short, I’m still here. Would you please be so kind and read out the paragraph under those signatures?”

To my surprise, the major did just that and began to read out load: “If the Major of Linköping should not approve whoever tries to obtain ownership of St. Mary, this paper and its counterpart will indicate when the real owners have return to reclaim what is theirs.”

“Mister Major, would you please hand me those papers?”

The major didn’t react…

“Please”, Omega repeated calmly.

Still, no reaction…

Omega rolled his eyes and stood up. All eyes in this room were fixated on the tall demon as he casually leaned over the table and reached for the papers. The moment his skin came in contact with both versions, the papers started to glow in a red light...

The room remained silent for a very long time…

“Can… we… ha… have… the… keys… n… now?”, an impatient voice in very rusty Swedish spoke from behind of me.

“There are more of you?”, one of the administration secretaries exclaimed.

“Nah!”, Omega smiled, “only the two of…”

“What are you?”, the other screamed.

“Before we settle that matter”, Omega said, “Mister Major, are you finally going to give us that key back?”

The deathly pale man cringed: “Yes! But... how…”

“Because we’re demons more specifically ghouls! You don’t need to know more”, Omega began to explain, “we handed those papers over to your predecessor, Major Åhman, 160 years ago, when we sensed that some forces were after us. We trusted the papers and our mansion to be secure in the hands of the City of Linköping in the hope, that one day we would return and get back what is ours. It just took its time. By sending our representative to you, we hoped to avoid what’s to come but sadly…”

“Please, don’t kill us!”, the major suddenly screamed.

“We’re not going to kill any of you!”, Omega began, “but since…”

“But doesn’t your kind depend on human flesh?”, one of the administration secretaries threw in before quickly covering her mouth after she realized what she had just said.

All eyes in the room turned towards her, a woman in her early thirties, beautiful but not in an extraordinary way with her neatly cut shoulder long black hair.

“Where did you get that piece of information from?”, Omega finally asked with interest.

A shiver ran through her body: “It… It’s my son… He’s into all this horror and mysticism stuff.”

“Interesting! I’ll come back to that later!”, Omega smiled, “let me first explain what we’re going to do, okay?”

Everybody nodded their head.

“Well”, Omega began energetically, “since we had to show and reveal ourselves, which we aren’t supposed to do, we need to do something about that! You have two choices and let me assure you, neither involves killing you! Since you know about our existence and there still might be ecclesiastical forces after us, we cannot let you leave this room with the possibility that one of you blurts out anything about us. Sure, you could swear to keep your mouth shut but unfortunately, I happen to be of a highly wary nature… So, option one: we erase every memory of this meeting which would be rather unpleasant and risky since I haven’t done that in quite some time and I might do more damage…”

“Isn’t there one of you more skilled at…”, the young yet clearly concerned administration secretary threw in.

“Unfortunately, our most skilled mind magician isn’t with us currently”, Omega answered quickly, “if you would now be so kind and listen to the second option for which I can promise you, that my skills will be more than well-developed enough to carry out the task without any further complications…”

I had to smile internally and had to congratulate Omega for this diplomatic move!

After the words had set, Omega continued to elaborate: “The second option would consist of a barrier to prevent you from talking about this event. You’d be fully aware of our meeting without the ability to share any information concerning our existence. Let me assure you, a mental barrier is much easier, less complicated and more pleasant than erasing memories! Besides, both sides could benefit from a mutual agreeme…”

“But how”, the major asked rather eagerly.

Omegas eyes fixated the major while Alpha went on to inspect the glass cabinets on the wall: “I’m sure there are problems we can help to solv…”

“Like what?”

“We could, just for the beginning, help you with the identification of the originator of those threatening emails you’ve been receiving for the last six weeks, right?”

“H… How… did you... know?”, The major stuttered.

“Sorry, but my brain just happens to receive and encode all sorts of electrical signals like the email you received seven minutes and 17 seconds ago.”

“And you could really help me with that?”

Ten minutes later while I was busy explaining the contents of the glass cabinets to Alpha with the help of the administration secretaries who were utterly fascinated by the quirky nature of the demon and his sense of fashion, the major exclaimed: “I knew it! It had to be him!”

“Who is it?”, the young administration secretary asked.

“Who else but Malmsteen, my biggest rival!”, the major snorted, “let’s expose him to the media!”

Omega put his arm around the majors’ shoulder: “Sadly, that would only backfire since we obtained this bunch of information illegally! I have to admit this whole smear campaign is quite clever but there are other ways to get him!”

“Tell me!”

“Oh!”, Omega began while rubbing his hands against each other euphorically, “to begin with, I increased the security precautions of your computer. Stuff like that won’t affect you in the future. No more leaks, scams and blackmails… Revenge-wise I’d suggest to send an accidental e-mail in his name to the Swedish tax investigation that contains some very intimate details about his opulent offshore bank accounts in…”

“Is he really that stupid? Offshore bank accounts?”

“Seems like it…”

“Then we have a deal! I chose option two! Lilli, Amanda, do you agree?”

Both administration secretaries nodded their heads.

“Mister Omega”, the major began while his head turned towards the smaller demon, “Mister…?”

“His name is Alpha”, the younger woman with the black hair, apparently Lilli, helped him.

The major continued: “Mister Alpha and…?

He looked at me. I smiled back: “Mister Emeritus!”

“And Mister Emeritus!”, the major smiled widely, “I think we have a deal! We accept your conditions. Now, there remains only one question: how can we possibly repay you besides giving you the key back?”

“Stay in contact would be the first thing”, Omega began, “and you could help with a few legal matters. My brothers and I don’t possess legal documents, passports and so on. We could always get them illegally, but I’m sure you could help us on the official way, especially with this not-being-able-to-show-our-faces-issue.”

“I’m sure we can help you with that!”, the older administration secretary assured us, “there are ways to evade unmasking you!”

“I trust in you!”, Omega smiled, “and there is one more thing… Coming back to your earlier observation, Lilli, we indeed need to consume human flesh from time to time, but only very sporadically, and unlike most kinds of demons, we prefer ours when it’s already dead - corpses! They’re dead anyway! So, we would be very pleased if you’d overlook some sporadic cases of desecration of graves! That’d be very kind of you!”

“How can I possibly resist your demand after those words!”, the major smiled and turned towards me, “has this one, Mister Omega, always been that sassy yet charming at the same time?”

I chuckled: “Ever since I first met him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the plot! The smut will return in chapter 26 and this time, we gonna raise the level!!!


	25. St. Lucifer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late easter-egg...

Quite some time and successful invoked mental barriers later, the major signalized me to enter the passage that led to the parts of the city hall that contained the city archives and the vaults. He held the door open a little longer so that the invisible Alpha and Omega could also enter. He then guided us, the older administration secretary Amanda had sadly left because of some urgent appointments, to a section of smaller vaults and stopped at number 611.

“So, this is it”, the major began while starting to unlock the vault, “I always wondered what this key would look like!”

“You’ll be surprised!”, Omega said after he had turned visible again. 

The vault seemed to be empty. The major thoroughly began to feel for whatever was in there…

“That’s nothing special!”, he assessed upon finding the object – a filigree very unsuspicious looking silver key.

Omega rolled his eyes and stretched out his hand…

“Whoa! That’s more what I expected!”, the major chuckled.

The moment the silver key had touched Omegas hand, its size had increased significantly while simultaneously turning black.

While Omega and the major continued their conversation, something else caught my attention…

A sniffling noise to be precise…

I turned around only to see that the young administration secretary Lilli had turned red while Alpha showed me his back.

Fortunately, I could understand his next words very clearly.

“You… own… a… cat?”

Yes!”, the woman answered nervously, “how did you know?”

Seemingly not taking notice of the question, Alpha continued: “Do… you… t.. talk… to… your… cat… often?”

That’s when my elbow hit Omegas side.

 

A few hasty excuses about some other urgent appointments later, I started the engine.

A grumpy Alpha sulked in the back of the new black bus.

Omega turned to his smaller brother: “Alpha, cheer up! We got our home back!”

“She… Li… Lilli… I… I… mean… pro… pro… promised… to… show… me… her… cat!”

“Alpha, cats can’t talk!”

“But… she… said… they… talk!”, the smaller demon protested.

“Alpha”, I intervened, “pet owners sometimes talk to their fosterlings but the animals NEVER talk back in any sort of human tongue because they can’t talk like we do! Trust me, mankind hasn’t managed to breed talking animals! There is only one exception: some kinds of birds, mainly parrots – tropical birds for your interest – have managed to learn a few words here and there… But it’s definitively not like real talking… They replicate the sounds they hear if repeated often enough… Mostly phrases and words like ‘Alpha sucks’ or ‘looser’!”

The tribulation within Alpha seemed to have disappeared mysteriously: “Uhhh! I… I… I… want… a… pa… pa… parrot… that… says… ‘Alpha… su.. sucks’!”

“Alpha, if that makes you stop searching for talking animals I’ll buy you a fucking ostrich!”, Omega chuckled on the seat next to me. 

Omega and I spent the rest of the drive chatting about the mansion. Sure, Alpha had tried to drill me with questions about parrots but Omega had successfully silenced him by handing him his new self-constructed mobile phone with a video about said animals. During the last few days, Omega had received countless packages containing the latest mobile phone models. None had satisfied him even the slightest. Since deconstructing phones and composing parts that met his expectations to a whole new entity while adding a few personal details proved to be quite easy for someone with the powers of transforming and reshaping matter, Omega simply constructed his own super phone. 

Now, the tall demon and I had a bet going on how far ahead his construction was in comparison to the big manufacturers. Omega said less than seven years while I was pretty sure that no one would manage to manufacture purely solar charged phones with a screen that consisted entirely out of some energy induced liquid Omega had created in order to allow alliterations of the screen size within that span of time. Currently, Alpha held a phone in the size of a standard piece of paper in his hands.

Alpha on the other hand had demanded a mobile phone, too. But since modern technology confused him at times and his behaviour wasn’t what one would exactly call moderate – well, Omega and I had caught him several times calling various boat manufacturers, animal shelters, zoos and Catholic crisis lines – we had confiscated his new phone and had replaced it with an ancient SIM-less Nokia. Alpha didn’t seem to mind since he could still play Snakes and Tetris.

I stopped the engine and looked towards our destination: “Man, this is not what I remembered!”

“Just as I remember it!”, was all Omega exclaimed on the other hand before he jumped out of the car. Alpha and I followed him of his heels. He stopped at a massive wrought-iron gate. The rest of the property was surrounded by high yet well-trimmed hedges with the gothic mansion as its centre. But somehow my brain wasn’t fully able to process everything ahead of me…

“Take my hand!”, a raspy voice brought me out of my floating thoughts. Without thinking, I grabbed the massive hand and didn’t resist the movement that followed. Omega simply pulled me through the gates… 

Wait…

“Did you just pull me through there?”, I asked in wonder while pointing back towards the metal construction that Alpha was just passing through.

“Yeah!”, the tall demon smiled, “without our help, you wouldn’t have been able to pass and rather have turned around and left. Many barriers shield this property. When normal people decide to take a look at this place, they usually remember some urgent appointments and leave immediately. This shouldn’t be a problem for you anymore!”

And indeed, my brain was now fully able to process the sight ahead of me! The gothic mansion in front of me was massive despite only being three storeys tall and looked absolutely picture-perfect…

“How is this even possible?”

“What exactly?”

“That this property let alone the mansion looks perfectly maintained despite you guys not being here for 160 fucking years?”

I could see the smile on Omegas face despite the mask.

“Like I said before”, Omega began, “we sensed that something was going to happen to us and therefore, we prepared for the worst… This property, our base and our home on this earth, had to be and still has to be protected by any means. We did anything in our powers to prevent it from falling in the wrong hands….”

“But why? It’s a property”, I blurted out, “and how did you even manage to shield it without being here?”

“That loose mouth again!”, Omega chuckled, “but interesting questions! In this case, I think it’s better to show you why we care so much about this property! Come!”

I followed the two demons along the impressive driveway, up a few stairs and through a massive ebon double door…

“Whoa!”, was all I said while my eyes scanned the massive entrance hall. Despite the cold temperatures outside, it was pleasantly warm inside. Several big golden candelabras illuminated the elegant room… The dark ebon parquet slightly scrunched under my feet. While the walls were painted white the large window were framed by thick crimson curtains. An equally crimson carpet led towards an impressive curved ebon double staircase… A few plants here and there added a touch of green… 

“What do you think?”, Omega interrupted my rushing thoughts.

“Feels like being in a fucking castle!”, I blurted out, “it’s beautiful! Magnificent! I love this elegant combination of ebon, white and crimson… I don’t know what else to say other than I’m already in love with this place! If the rest of the mansion turns out to look live rubbish, which I honestly don’t think, can I please sleep here!”

“Wait ‘til you see the rest!”, Omega chuckled while pulling off his masquerade, “and Alpha, I still think it was for the better to not have painted the walls purple!”

“Purple?”, I spat out, “Alpha, seriously!?! That would totally destroy the elegance of this place!”

Alpha tried to defend himself but before he could even utter a single word, Omega had already intervened: “Enough of painting jobs! Papa likes this place and that’s everything that counts! Before we show you the rest of St. Lucifer, let us first show you why this place is of such importance to us. Come!”

Omega crossed the hall with big quick steps that made it hard for me to follow. He didn’t take one of the stairs leading upwards and instead moved through a dark door between the two curved staircases. I found myself in a corridor with numerous doors on both side. When I entered the corridor, Omega had already reached the end of the passage. A massive bookshelf covering the entire wall that marked the end of the corridor. He obviously didn’t care about any of the doors and instead moved up his right arm and fractions of a second later, the silver ring on his right hand began to glow.

The massive shelf moved to the side revealing another case of stairs, this time leading downwards. 

Omega waited for me. 

“Hey, you might need this!”, he said while handing me my electric torch, “since there are no candelabras down there and I don’t want Alpha to burn this place to the ground, I thought I’d bring this with me.”

“How thoughtfully!”, was all I said while I took the light and switched it on. I followed Omega. Step after step… Step after step… Step after step further downwards…

“Seriously, Omega, do you plan on reaching the core of the earth?”

“Nah, we’re almost there! Just this turn and a few more steps!”

“Wait, turn...?”

The stairs did really take a turn now heading back towards where we hand come from but leading further in the depths of the earth… A few more steps later, I found myself at the beginning of another corridor, to be precise a vast marble-lined corridor with another massive looking ebon door at its end. When I was close enough, I was able to detect the five elemental symbols etched in the wood as well as the inverted cross symbol I had seen at their church before. Apparently, my symbol.

Omega stretched out his massive arm and grabbed one of the doorknobs.

While his hand rested there, he turned to look at me: “Let’s see if you’re allowed to get in here!”

Omega pushed open the massive door. He and Alpha quickly entered while a frozen me remained at the threshold: “Wait! What!?!”

“Just come in!”, Omega signalized me to move, “I was just joking about your predecessor! Because of his despicable behaviour towards us, he got denied entry to this room, the centrepiece of this property, at one point. Shortly before everything happened, he wasn’t even allowed to step on those stairs. St. Lucifer simply rejected him! This shouldn’t be a problem for you since you treat us with respect rather than contempt and despi…”

“What do you mean with resent?”

“The mansion simply prevented him from entering this room and later the stairs… It was like an invisible barricade… Come! There’s something you should see!”

I closed my eyes and forced my body to move…

Nothing happened…

I felt a hand on my shoulder: “See, nothing has happened! St. Lucifer has officially accepted you as the new Papa!” 

I smiled back: “Thankfully! So, what was it you wanted me to see?”

“Look for it yourself!”, was all Omega said before Alpha and he disappeared into the darkness.

“Very funny!”

“Work for your money!”, I heard Omega snicker, “we thought you liked exploring dark secret buildings!”

“The last time, if I remember correctly, this nearly gave me heart-attack!”

“Stop whining and get moving! You almost sound like Alpha!”

“Hey…”, Alpha began to protest but Omega must have silenced him.

 

Finally, my light began to move around… Over the black marble on the ground... the white marble on the walls… the massive crimson marble pillars… When I moved the electric torch in front of me, the thin stream of light soon got swallowed by the blackness, massiveness and shire size of the room…. The same happened when my torch moved up… I guessed that this room was at least eight to ten metres high… If not higher… 

I followed the marble pillars to my left side… The way I moved led me to the conclusion that this room, better hall, was of a circular shape… I had an idea what I was looking for… Maybe another altar like the one in the church… But after some time, I found myself back at the entrance… 

Whatever I was looking for must be in the centre of the hall… So, I bravely took the first step in the darkness in front of me… 

I felt lost…

And really envied the demons for their night vision while I only had this puny light… 

I desperately searched the ground for literally anything… 

And was rewarded by coming across a white line of marble between all the black of the floor. I followed the line, again running like a circle, and after a few metres, I saw that there was a green light on the floor ahead of me…

Seconds later, I stood in front of green crystal that seemed to be embedded in the ground and appeared to emit a green pulsating aura of energy and light… I couldn’t take me eyes of this magic sight, bent down and stretched out a hand to touch…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself for 2,5 chapters of smut... (sorry for the teasing)


	26. Basements and Bedrooms...

“I wouldn’t do that!”, a raspy voice stopped me. Simultaneously, the area about ten metres ahead of me got illuminated in a purple light. My head shot up fixating the purple bubble of light ahead of me. The light itself emerged from another crystal in the ground, whereas the words came from a cross-legged Omega who seemed to be meditating mid-air right above the purple crystal…

“But you told me to look out for something unusual! And why not light this room up from the beginning?”

“One does not touch another ones’ sigil stone! This is Earths and not yours! As for your second question, I first had to reconnect myself with mine and that unfortunately takes some time…”

“What are these good for?”, I asked while stepping closer to Omega.

“Besides providing all the barriers that secure this property with energy and preventing its decay, they link us to hell”, Omega began to explain, “every demon has his own. They ensure that our hellish part stays alive on earth and remains connected with hell while the eating-human-flesh-part keeps us sane and our earthy part alive…”

While explaining this, a bubble of red light suddenly began to illuminate the hall. I turned only to find Alphas eager fingers moving over his sigil stone…

“…and once all of us will be here, we’re going to contact hell and…”

“Will I get one of these, too?”

Omega pointed towards the middle of the circle the five elemental sigil stones were located upon: “This will be yours if you proof to be worthy!”

I stepped closer to a massive defunct crystal in the marble ground… 

A shiver ran down my spine upon touching the cold substance in front of me…

“Just wait ‘til you get yours!”, Omega chuckled, “then it will even be better!”

“Why are these stones down here?”

“We could always carry them around but that would be a bit weird if you ask me… You know if one walks around while carrying a thing of this size”, Omega chuckled, “and since it’s better to keep them off the radar, as far away as possible from any especially Christian hand, why not hide them deep in the ground on a literally sealed property that’s simultaneously powered by these things. Certainly, one of our better ideas!”

I didn’t know what to say but: “For sure! But what do you mean with powered?”

Omega signalized me to step closer to him. His rings started to glow as some of the marble plates on the ground around his crystal moved upwards revealing pink glowing things that vaguely reminded me of power lines. Seconds later, the plates moved back down again.

“These stones power the barriers, our water system, heat the mansion, ventilate everything, ensure the plant growth and soon will provide us with electricity… Well, the last part after a bit of renovation!”, Omega chuckled.

“Brilliant!”, I remarked with a big smile.

Then, a light caught my attention. Alpha had risen and stood there, flames emerging from both of his hands. A few seconds later, he waved them casually and the flames were gone. Yet the tattoos on his hands were still glowing in a red light.

Omega looked at him: “Recharged?”

“Yes… fi… fina… finally! Let’s… g… get… out… of… here! I… I… We… had… pl… plenty… of… da… dark… darkness… in… the… last… de… decades!”

It felt good not being the only one down there yearning for daylight…

Endless steps later, we were back in the corridor. The book shelf moved back in place obscuring the opening of the staircase. Alpha and Omega then began the task of showing me the endless rooms of St. Lucifer… 

While the ground floor served official duties and therefore, mostly consisted of a massive parlour, conference rooms, an enormous library, guest quarters, a dining room and a huge kitchen, the first floor was much more lively furnished. It contained most of the living quarters of the demons and like Omega had promised me, still had plenty of space left for writing and recording music. I immediately fell in love with the friendly spacious kitchen and the inviting living room with its large black piano.

“Now, let’s show you where we sleep!”

Another case of stairs up, I found myself opposite of six doors each marked with an elemental symbol. This time, I needed no invitation and simply stepped forward and opened the largest door marked with my symbol. The room behind was massive but besides the enormous bed mostly empty.

The explanation followed immediately: “I don’t think he ever spend a single night here! He hated this place!”

“I’ll change that! I LOVE this place and especially this room! And that bed!”, I scream before I couldn’t stop myself anymore and jumped on that gigantic thing in front of me. The two demons soon followed. I put my arms around both of them as we tried to catch our breaths.

“You know what?”

“What?”, came from both demons.

“This seems like the perfect place for an orgy!”

A moment of awkward silence followed…

I looked at Alpha on my left. The smaller demon seemed to have frozen while simultaneously turning red at an alarming speed…

Exactly where I wanted to have him…

I quickly rolled on top of him, fixated his shoulders with my hands and shot down focusing on my target – Alphas lips!

Seems like the demon wasn’t prepared for my ambush… He simply remained lying there… The only part of his body that reacted where the icy cold eyes opening wide in surprise…

I pressed my lips onto his with my tongue demanding entry with forceful strength… To my surprise, Alpha didn’t fight back… At least not in the beginning… Simply too taken by my manoeuvre…

Next to me, Omega burst out into laughter, and this, very unfortunately, brought Alpha back to reality… The usually so fiery demon began to squirm underneath me trying to free himself from my grip… With my whole body weight, I pushed him down again… But I was very well aware that it was only a matter of time since the demon was remarkably stronger than me… The movements underneath me got wilder… I knew that I was very close… I only needed a few more seconds… Then, Alphas head moved unexpectedly… I tasted blood… His sharp fangs must have cut my lower lip… Finally, I had the solution!

I shot up…

“I got it! It’s rose!”, I managed to get out between my hasty gasps for air.

Omega still couldn’t stop his laughing…

“Tell me, Omega, am I right?”, I asked the tall demon while the blood of my cut lower lip dripped on the stunned demon underneath me…

“Uhhh…”, Omega began his hand on his belly trying to get to normal again, “brilliant move, Papa! Totally unexpected! You sneaky bastard! And you’re even right! You won!”

“W… w… wait!”, came from underneath me. I looked down. A splash of my blood landed in Alphas eye obscuring the icy orbit with a layer of red… Alpha desperately rubbed his eye while Omega laughed: “I told you to be careful with those fangs! Treacherous things they are!”

Thankfully, Omega handed me a handkerchief to stop the drops of blood raining on poor Alpha…

Alpha quickly blinked a few times: “You… you… ha… had… a… bet… go… going… on… a… about… my…”

“Yes, Alpha!”, Omega answered with a big smile, “about your taste! And Papa nailed it!”

“Seriously, rose?”, I chuckled, “I expected something a bit spicier… Something a bit more exoti…”

“That’s… un… unfair…”, Alpha began to protest.

Omega laughed: “Somehow, we had to break the ice and Papa and I were in the mood to gamble! Stop whining, you’re behaving yourself like a damn dandy! Where is the fiery randy old devil of a lecher?”

Ignoring Omega, Alpha looked at me: “Whe… when… did… you… make… this… bet?”

“Last week during a shower while you were in la la land once again!”

“Well, may… maybe… I… I… sh… should… sl… sleep… less! Wha… what’s… the… prize?”

That certainly was the wrong question…

At least for Alpha…

I presented the fiery demon with my widest and sweetest smile in my repertoire: “Who gets to fuck you first!”


	27. Prey...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, Papas plan doesn't go as expected...

“What!”, a squeaking Alpha tried to jump away from me…

But he was caught by Omega: “Relax, Alpha! Don’t act like the bloody virgin Mary! Sooner or later, the ice between ALL of us finally had to be broken! And remember, you yourself came to me numerous times over the last week complaining how much you miss our private encounters…”

Alpha still tried to escape…

Omega prevented that: “Remember what you said… You moaned… You begged… Oh, Omega, please fuck me! Please, Omega! Please!”

Instead of fighting, Alpha turned red again and looked at his feet…

“Oh, now you remember! Can we, please, get this going! You’re not the only one in desperate need!”

“But…”

“It’s not that different! It’s only a third party joining! And I can promise you, it’s worth it! Papas’ tongue here makes your darkest dreams come true!”

Suddenly, the fiery demon seemed to reconsider his decision with a nervous quiver: “Re… really?”

I smiled: “Alpha, I can’t promise anything! But if Omega said he liked it… And honestly, something is pretty wrong! I feel like I should be the nervous one and not you…”

“You… You’ve… ne… never… done… it?”

“Nope!”

The fire of this ice-cold eyes returned: “Let’s… do… some… something… a… about… that!”

Without thinking, I blurted out: “Why not!”

Somehow, my plan was turning 180 degrees… But I didn’t mind… I had always wanted to try it…

The smaller demon moved closer, stretched out his arms, gently cupped my cheeks with his tattooed hands and fixated me with his eyes: “You… you’re… s…. sure?”

“If you wait any longer, I might get nervous and back away… Nevertheless, you’ll be my prey afterwards! You have my word for that, Alpha! Do it now!”

Alpha presented me with a wide blissful smile showing me his fangs…

But that little fucker still didn’t move…

Or at least not until one of Omegas massive paws hit Alphas bottom cheek: “Get going, man! You don’t want to displease our new Papa!”

This indeed got Alpha moving. His face came closer. I, in return, cupped his cheeks while my thumbs began to caress the bumpy scar tissue on either side… The demon let out a barely audible moan and then finally got moving for real… Fiery hot lips got in contact with mine… This time, I tasted the rose straight away… My tongue pushed forward…

“And Alpha, mind those fangs!”, I heard Omega in the background…

For some reason, I trusted Alpha to know what he was doing and continued to demand entry… Seconds later, the two rough hot tips of his split tongue met mine… Exploring yet careful changed to deep and longing very quickly… My finger soon left Alphas cheeks and moved downwards… Ripping open one button after another of Alphas beloved Hawaiian shirt with the pineapple print… More than one button went flying… The shirt followed… I pushed the demon back and sat on top of him admiring the sight in front of me… 

The first thing that struck my eyes were the line of the five elemental symbols etched in the left side of his chest with the fire symbol shining crimson… The pale muscular yet lean torso was covered with scars… Some more faded than others… Their number increased the closer it got to the demons’ thighs…

I leaned down for another kiss… But with another destination in mind… My mouth moved further down… First stopping to suck at a delicate point on the demons’ neck which made my target shiver… Meanwhile, my nails dug into his shoulders… Hopefully, a mark would stay at his neck… After a while, I let go of this neck… My tongue slowly moved downwards… Tracing the lines of the symbols etched in his chest… But I couldn’t stand the incredible heat there for long and instead bit into the nipple right next to the symbols… The delicate flesh hardened immediately under my teeth….

“Fuck!”, I heard Alpha moan while my tongue caressed the nipple and somehow, his Swedish seemed to be a lot more fluent…

Meanwhile, my hands moved downwards tracing lines over his chest, then, focusing on his belly before shifting their attention to the button of Alphas black pants… I sensed there was something underneath all the fabric that desperately demanded to be freed… 

It took a while ‘til the pants were gone… But when they were gone and the fiery demon lay under me completely naked, I had to think about Omegas words… The fiery demon obviously was one of the less fortune ones… Still, the sight was beautiful and far more favourable regarding my future plans than Omegas monstrosity…

I placed a soft kiss on the tip of Alphas length which made the demon throw his head back in joy and educed several loud moans from him: “Just… suck… it! Please!”

I gladly obeyed and placed the hardening flesh between my lips… Within seconds, Alpha transformed in a moaning mess… His hips bucked… I took him deeper… The grip of my fingers got firmer… Soon, I tasted the first pre-come… Someone must be in desperate need…

Enough teasing for now… I let go of Alpha throbbing length… He looked at me with big disappointed eyes: “Why?”

“Alpha, I told you what I want!”, I said while the jacket and vest of my new fancy three-piece suit flew through the air before pulling the shirt over my head and beginning to unbutton my pants. Meanwhile, Alpha got back on his knees and helped me get out of my fabric prison.

“Nice… dick!”, he remarked sheepishly a hint of envy in his eyes, “well… get… on… your… knees, Papa! Let… me… fuck… you!”

This time, I was the one obeying and got on my fours while Alpha moved behind me. I couldn’t understand Alphas next words since they were in the demonic language. A movement on my right caught my eyes. Omega, who had been previously watching us, began to rummage the many pockets of his leather jacket while replying to his partner in crime: “Of course I remembered to bring that! Here!”

Alpha caught the bottle with one hand while Omega returned to his observing position and I wondered where they got the lube from…

“Relax!”, Alpha whispered softly. I heard a squeezing noise from the bottle and seconds later, felt the fiery demons’ finger carefully distributing the lube around my waiting entry sending shivers through my body…

But unlike my former encounters with lube, this one wasn’t cold: “What is this stuff?”

Omega chuckled: “Special mixture from Air! Gets the magic going like nothing else!”

I had difficulties understanding these few words… Those fingers… Their soft touch…

“Inhale!”, Alpha instructed me, “and… relax!”

Seconds later, a finger pushed against my hole… My body tensed… 

“Relax!”, Alpha repeated and the finger finally slid inside. Luckily, I managed to fight the urge to jump… To a certain point, Alphas skilled finger in my ass felt amazing but at the same time, I felt that my nervousness was returning… And how the hell was Alphas dick supposed to fit in my tight hole when this one single… wait two fingers already felt like my poor ass was about to burst… My body tensed again… This time only stronger…

“Let me help you!”

The bed suddenly began to move… Omega had left his observing position and came closer… I wondered what the tall demon had in mind… I watched him get on his back and position his head underneath me… The moment Alpha slid in his third finger in my tight and aching hole, Omega placed a soft kiss on the tip of my length that made me moan loudly…

“Better?”

The answer was an indecipherable grunt…

While Omega continued his tender movements down there, placing kiss after kiss on my hardening dick and fondly stroking my balls, Alphas fingers did their best to prepare my butt for the gift I was about to receive… He stretched me further and further… Who knew that pain and pleasure could be such a good combination… 

Then, Alphas fingers left me: “Ready?”

Omegas movements stopped as well.

I inhaled deeply: “Yes! I want you to be inside of me! Alpha, I really do!”

Something warm touched my entry…

“Relax!”, Alpha instructed my while his hands stroke over my thighs, “I’ll… be… gentle!”

“That’s what I’m hopin…”

“Shhhh!”, the fiery demon interrupted me, “relax! Inha…”

“Alpha, one more ‘relax’ and I won’t buy you that parrot! Just get you fucking dick inside of me!”

“Okay!”, Alpha chuckled, “on three… two… one...!”

The moment Alphas hardened length began to push forwards, Omegas soft lips engulfed my sensitive friend down there… I groaned loudly with almost animalistic sounds escaping my mouth as Alpha slowly moved forwards… And that little fucker had the balls to just stop midway… Sure, I was tight… But even if so, sometimes you had to go all in…

“Alpha!”, I screamed at the top of my voice, “for fucks sake! MOVE!”

Pain mixed with pleasure as the fire demon moved himself all the way in… A high-pitched noise escaped my mouth as all oxygen seemed to be pushed out of my lungs… Once it was in, none of us dared to move… I heard the heavy breathing from behind of me while my mind focused on nothing but my pounding ass and Alphas pulsating dick inside of me…

“Tell me!”, Omega chuckled from underneath me after his lips had let go of my dick, “how does it feel?”

“Tight!”

“Full!”

Alpha and I exclaimed almost simultaneously.

The demon underneath me chuckled.

“Omega, before… you laugh… yourself… to death, get that… dirty mouth… of yours… working…. again!”, I managed to get out between gritted teeth as my thoughts, feelings and the control over my body went haywire, “and Alpha, fucking MOVE! I… don’t… fucking… care… if… you’re… rough… with… me!”

Omega let out a last dirty chuckle before his attention shifted back towards my dick, while Alpha began to move slightly hitting some very sensitive spots I had never known were there… His pace and the depths of his movements soon increased… His balls audibly smashed against my flesh… My body began to tremble as shivers went down my spine… Down my limbs… While I felt streams of sweat running down my temple…

I felt the orgasm building up inside of me… The mixture of sweat waves of pain… Mainly Alphas nails on my thighs, the hard, animalistic trusts of his dick and the firm grip of Omegas fingers around my balls… And pleasure caused by the bulky demons’ lips around my dick, his sensational tongue and those sweet spots in my ass were about to send me over the edge… My eyes rolled back as my body began to tense…

Then, something sharp dug into the sensitive flesh of my throbbing length that had been about to explode just moments ago… Omegas sharp teeth… After the teeth had left, the demons’ firm hand took their place…

“No!”, his raspy voice echoed through the room, “not yet!”

“But… I’m… soooo…. Close! I… need….”

“Hold it!”

“O… Omega, I… can’t!”

“Yes, you can! Just a little longer ‘til Alpha is there too! You won’t regret it!”

My mind blinked out… The only things I felt were my poor pounding ass maltreated by Alphas rough movements and my throbbing, twitching and pulsating cock whose hot load so desperately demanded to be released…

“Please…”

Alphas balls slammed viciously against me…

“Please…”

Again and again…

Until Alphas breathing behind me got ragged, his thrusting erratic and his dick started to pound heavily… Omegas lips moved back over my cock taking it in deeply and finally sending me over the edge and I saw stars… The tall bulky demon swallowed eagerly while Alpha filled me with his hot seed before collapsing on top of me… My arms trembled… 

Omega came ahead of me before I could collapse on top of him… His massive arms both caught Alpha and me while he smiled widely: “That was absolutely fucking beautiful!”

I just lay there for what seemed like an eternity with the warm comforting arms of the bulky demon around me…

After a while, Omegas gentle fingers stroke through my hair.

I looked up in those deep blue oceans of the still completely clothed demon: “But… you…”

Omega smirked: “I’ll soon get what I want… Well, after you had your fun with Alpha!”


	28. Slut...

“I don’t see that happen any time soon”, I smiled tiredly, “my ass is burning and my energy has disappeared mysteriously!”

“Was it worth it?”, Omega asked clearly delighted.

“Fucking yes! But now, I can’t take care of my prey…”

“Let me help you with that! We need to make sure your prey gets treated appropriately since…”

“But I can’t like this…”

“Papa, I don’t possess these powers for no reason! You’ll be charged quicker than you can possibly ever imagine! But first let me take care of your poor butt!”

Omega produced another bottle out of the many pockets of his leather jacket.

“Another one of Airs mixtures?”

“Nah, Air wouldn’t need something like that… This is from Earth and Water… The pain should cease immediately!”

And indeed, the moment the paste came in contact with my arching and burning entrance, the pain faded straight away…

“How I love magic!”, I moaned while Omegas fingers where still massaging in the paste, “tell me, how does the second part of your plan work? How do you plan to recharge me?”

The demon signalized me to turn around and smiled at me widely: “Oddly enough with living creatures, we’ll need full body contact. Unfortunately, these clothes will be rather hindering for that! Would you mind taking care of this problem?”

“Absolutely fucking not!”

The leather jacket and the light black hoodie were goon soon. While I was busy to undo the black button-up a question crossed my mind: “Are you also taking care of Alpha? I mean, charging him up?”

Omega smirked: “Nah, he can take care of himself! Besides, he loves to be fucked senseless! The wilder and more abusive, the better! Don’t worry about him being penetrated too wildly or fucked too often! In all seriousness, he loves that! Even, if he won’t admit! Right, Alpha?”

Ohhh… how these words turned me on…

Alpha raised his head tiredly and, despite turning red again, muttered: “Yes, Papa! Yes, master! I want… the… both… of… you… to… to… fuck… me… in… into… ob… obli… oblivion!”

Omega smiled: “You heard him?”

“Since when does he call you ‘master’?”, I wondered.

“Don’t know!”, Omega chuckled, “I never asked him to address me like that! He just likes that! Turns him on! Right, pet?”

“Yes, master!”

Omega rolled his eyes: “Pretty ridiculous if you ask me… But everyone has some sort of kinks, right?”

“What are yours?”

“You’ll soon find out”, Omega smirked and pulled me closer when his shirt finally was gone, “as much as I’m into cuddling and comfort like our sessions in the shower… but I’m also very fond of fucking Alpha senseless! Right, pet?”

“Yes, master! Please, fuck… me… senseless!”

“See”, Omega laughed and pulled me on top of his lap. His delicate lips crushed down onto mine. This time, his tongue pushed forward. The two tips soon caressed mine… I felt his nails on my back… I copied after I had got enough of his thick hair and my fingers soon moved over the bumpy scar tissue on the search for more grip…

Sharp teeth sank into the side of my neck… Totally unexpected, making my nails sink deeper in Omegas back… I moaned loudly as Omega sucked…

“Ohhh… Omega! You’re… not… re… recharging… me… with… this… You’re… fucking… draining… me…”

The sharp teeth, soft lips and skilled tongue left my neck.

Omega had a mischievous smile on his face: “I just wanted to enjoy you a little longer like this… Being sooo submissive and basically fucked up!” 

His hands playfully moved through the hairy mess on my head…

“Submissive!”, I snorted, “You’re mistaking me! I’m simply dead tired! Give me back my energy and I’ll show you!”

“Okay! Okay!”, the tall demon gave in, “come closer, my dear!”

My bare chest met his… I felt his belly touch mine… His massive arms caught me in a tight embrace while my nails again dug into his back… The tips of our noses literally touched…

Those enchanting deep blue eyes were only centimetres away from mine: “Kiss me!”

The moment our lips met again, I felt this electrifying feeling, theses tingles, basically everywhere where our bodies touched… I sensed Omegas usually so cold rings heating up… Not long after, and I already felt like on top of the world again…

Omega pulled away…

“No!”, I protested, pushed him down and fixated him with me arms, “I want more!”

Omega smiled: “I thought your main target, at least this time, was Alpha…”

“Yes! But I want you too!”

“Let’s postpone that! There will be other days unless you decide to choose me over your prey! I can’t recharge you too often! Your body isn’t made for that… And the Stones were right… You can’t always get what you want…”

“Then, until next time! I won’t forget that!”, I smirked while getting off Omega and without really thinking about my choice of words I addressed Alpha, “pet! Get up! Now!”

“Dominant, are we?”, Omega chuckled as we watched me placing a rather fierce smack on Alphas ass, and yeah, the quintessence symbol was really carved in there on the right cheek, when the small demon didn’t obey fast enough.

“No, I just want to get going!”, an amused me replied.

“Before you actually get going”, Omega began while rising up himself and approaching us, “let me show you one thing! If you really want to treat that lecher nicely, I suggest you to put your finger here and press firmly!”

Omega took my hand and positioned my fingers on a spot on Alphas neck.

“You want me to choke him?”

“It’s only a suggestion! Trust me, you won’t kill him… Only gets him light-headed… And he loves that! Right, pet?”

“Yes, master!”, Alpha begged eagerly, “I… I… want… you… to… choke… me, please!”

I smacked Alphas ass: “If that makes you happy…”

“A… And master…”

“Yes, pet?”

“P… Please, d… don’t… forget… about… the… scr… scratching! P… Please!”

“Scratching?”, I looked at Omega with a question mark on my face.

“Where else do you think all those scars on his thighs come from”, the tall demon answered while his fingers transformed into claws right in front of my eyes and then back into their previous human form, “but your nails should be perfectly fine!”

“Like this?”, I smirked when my nails sank deep into the scarred flesh of Alphas thighs making the smaller demon moan loudly…

“For example!”, Omega remarked cheekily.

“This could only happen to me”, I thought to myself, “you enter a forest and what is it that you find: of course a group of horny kinky demons!”

The image made me laugh. I shook my head to get that thought out of my mind and focused on my moaning prey in front of me… My fingers sank deeper in Alphas thighs and followed the deep furrows that were already there… The demon grunted something incoherent which only made me increase my efforts… Which in turn made Alpha scream in pleasure… At the top of his voice….

I looked down at myself… Alphas screams seemed to turn me on since my cock was already hardening… While one hand pounded Alphas bottom cheek like dead meat, the other one put firm pressure on that vein Omega so kindly had shown me: “Pet, do you like to be treated like this?”

The demon desperately gasped for air: “Yes, master!”

“Tell me, what do you want?”

“Ma… Master, I… I… I want… you… in… inside… of… me!”

“And what else, pet?”

“Master, p… please… fuck me… use… me… a… abuse me!”

“Let’s see what I can do about that”, was all I said while my hand let go of Alphas neck. I grabbed the lube, Airs special mixture, and distributed a generous portion on Alphas entrance before I turned to my own quickly hardening cock while the fiery demon in front of me was still gasping for air…

Without wasting more time, I pushed myself forwards… Fractions of a second later, I was already all the way in… Alpha screamed loudly… Unlike my tight virgin of a butt, well ex-virgin now, Alphas ass was as close to easy access as I could imagine… Seems like somebody was pretty used to such treatment… My nails turned back to Alphas heavily scarred thighs while my pace increased quickly… 

What increased as well, were Alphas screams… First I had been concerned that I was hurting him…

But Omega quickly explained: “He’s always like that! Terrible when it comes to secrecy! We always got caught back in hell because of this little songbird! Right, pet?”

“Ye… yes… ma… master!”

Omega rolled his eyes and began to unbutton his jeans: “Maybe I need to shut you up! Pet, do you want me to give your mouth something to do?”

“Yes… ma… master! P… P… Please!” 

Streams of sweat ran down my spine, while Omega threw his jeans away and finally freed his monstrosity. He positioned himself right in front of Alpha: “And pet, mind those damn fangs!”

“Yes… master… I… I… will… be… care… careful!”

Omega patted the smaller demons head: “Good pet!”

And with that, he shoved himself all the way in… But I didn’t hear a single gagging sound…

The sight aroused me on so much I couldn’t describe it… If you’d ever asked me what turned me on more, THAT sight or the feeling of my cock in Alphas ass, I couldn’t give you an answer…

Something inside me signalized me that I was close yet I sensed Alpha needed a lot more… I did my best… Trusting him harder, deeper and faster while my nails sank deep into one thigh and in his neck cutting of the pulsating vein underneath my fingers…

I couldn’t stand the feeling much longer… My balls slammed hard against Alphas ass… My throbbing cock dug in deeply… Wilder and wilder… I felt my stomach tense…

“Ahhh!”, I screamed loudly, “I’m… coming!”

Omegas eyes locked with mine: “Then come for us!”

A few thrusts later, my cock began to twitch uncontrollably and I emptied myself in Alphas hot ass before collapsing on top of him…

“Enough of the foreplay!”, Omega exclaimed euphorically while getting his dick out of Alphas mouth, “Papa, please, move aside! It’s my turn now and don’t worry about yourself! Let me tell you, it takes quite something to make this slut here come! Inhumane strength and force to be precise!”

A powerless me moved aside…

With utter fascination, I watched as Omega shoved his already wet and hard monstrosity inside Alpha… The fiery demon let out the loudest scream so far: “Ye… yes… ma… master!”

The tall bulky demon fucked his partner in crime with vicious force for what seemed like eternity… The bed swung under me as I watched… Ages later, Omegas claws scratched over Alphas bloody thigh one last time before moving towards his neck… The eyes of the fiery demon rolled back as Omega pressed down with quite a lot of pressure: “Pet, you may come now!”

Alpha confirmed with a loud scream…

“Papa, you may assist me!”

More than happy to be of any use other than warming up Alpha, I positioned myself under the fiery demon and began to suck his rock-hard dick thus increasing his screams, grunts and moans…

Then without warning, Alpha exploded into my mouth and according to the noises caused by the taller demon, Omega must have come shorty afterwards… 

I moved from underneath of Alpha, the taste of smoky rose still prominent in my mouth… A decision which proved to be a wise one since Alpha collapsed only seconds later, a blissful expression on his face… I lay myself down right next to the gasping demon, more than happy about this little orgy… And to have postponed my session with Omega…

The taller demon, who seemed like nothing had happened at all and was still filled to the core with energy, had produced yet another bottle out of his jacket and was busy distributing a generous amount of the black liquid on Alphas bloody thighs. 

After he was finished, he plunged himself down between Alpha and me: “That was fantastic! We need to repeat that soon!”


	29. Reunion I...

The next morning, my eyelids felt heavy like iron curtains… But there was this unspeakable noise that had brought my out of my sleep…

“Has Alpha finally managed to wake you up?”, a raspy voice asked me.

“This is Alpha?”, I asked in surprise.

“Well”, Omega chuckled, “after action like this, he always transforms into a sawmill the next morning…”

“If he continues like this, he will have deforested half Siberia…”

Omega let out a hearty chuckle next to me that finally made me open my eyes… I lay there curled next, nah, not really, better almost on top of the tall bulky demon who was radiating heat like crazy…

His deep blue crescent moons fixated me: “I suggest, you either get used to his snoring or buy a good pair of earmuffs!”

I placed a soft kiss on the scarred lips in front of me before my head sank back to rest a bit more on the tall demons’ shoulder…

Omega eyed me: “Before we talk about the serious business concerning our future plans, I have the most serious question of them all for you… What did you enjoy more: top or bottom?”

“Well…”, I stuttered not really sure about my feelings, “first, I thought… there is noooo way, I could enjoy… being fucked… but I was curious and… wanted to… give it a try… Well, it hurt… but in a good way… you know… all this pain… slowly… turned into pleasure… I really liked that… But I liked… being on top, too… Being in control… Omega, I don’t think… I can give you a clear answer!”

“I’m perfectly fine with that”, the tall demon chuckled, “some people like both sides… While others, like our little lumberjack, have chosen their side…”

“Do you ever bottom?”

Omega raised his scar-streaked eyebrow before smirking: “Very rarely!”

A little bit disappointed, I asked again: “How comes?”

Omega must have sensed the disappointment in my voice, since he let out a dirty laugh: “Don’t worry about your plans! I will play along and more importantly, I want to play along!”

I smiled: “Good!”

“And even with Alpha, I bottom from time to time… But usually, he has to work hard for that right, since, to put it in Alphas words, he is the ‘pet’ and I am his ‘master’ and I don’t give away my position that easily…”

“Dominant all the way?”

Omega smirked: “Not all the way but pretty close! Enough of sex talk! It’s early in the morning and I don’t want to discharge you yet again! Back to less serious matter! What are the plans for today: To give notice to quit your ‘spacious’ residence and moving your stuff or a bit of hiking?”

 

For the seconds time in the last few weeks, I left my car in the parking area close to those enchanted woods… Only this time, the two masked again demons walked by my side… Well, the still sleepy Alpha stumbled more than he walked…

After Omega and I had finally achieved our impossible goal of waking up Alpha - well, after the fiery demon had dressed, Omega still needed to carry him down to the car - we got back to my place. All of us needed a shower and what we needed even more were the maps. Without them, not even the two demons would be able to find their former prison…

The backpack over my shoulders was filled with enough provisions for our journey. On my left side, the sleepy Alpha almost collided with a tree… We hadn’t even walked for an hour yet…

“Seriously, Alpha! I know you aren’t a morning person… But regarding the distance still ahead of us, let me please help you”, a concerned Omega spoke.

Thanks to Omega, the fiery demon dressed in yet another Hawaiian shirt, this time with a very bright and colourful parrot print, jumped over dead trees like a young deer only seconds later…

Hours later, Omega turned towards me: “Damn! I don’t remember these woods being that depressive! How the hell did you fight the urge to just turn around and leave? “  
“And now imagine on top of that, that unlike you two, I’m not nocturnal!”

“Papa, you must have been pretty determined!”

“And too damn curious!”

“This time, too?”

“What do you mean?”

Omega chuckled: “Alpha and I have this bet going on about the condition of the church…”

“Why?”, I interrupted the tall demon, “that building is in an amazing condition regarding its age…”

“Yeah, sure”, Omega smirked, “but you forget one very vital factor: our dear brothers! Our bet is more about what they’ve destroyed in our short absence. Alpha says total destruction, while I’m sure something happened to the main hall… What do you say?”

“What’s the price?”

“One night of romantic freedom between the three of us… The winner earns the right to decide who gets to fuck who and…”

“I’m in!”, I interrupted Omega who smiled widely in return, “I say the belfry has collapsed!”

“Are you aware that this is the most solid part of the building?”

“Don’t care! My balls are on the belfry!”

A few hours later, I broke the silence: “Where do you think your brother will be when we arrive there and what will they be doing?”

Both demons looked at each other, before Alpha began: “Water… w… will… be… down… in… the… well!”

“In the well?”

“Yeah!”, Omega began to elaborate, “he’s hiding there from the others! It’s relatively secure and suits his element the best… As for the others, I think Earth will be chasing Air…”

“Or… Air’s… cha… chasing… Earth”, Alpha threw in.

“Depends… If Earth’s managed to cross the line with his behaviour to make Air turn the tables… Could be both! How far do we still have to go?”

Hours later, Omega stopped abruptly and held out his hand: “I think, we’re there! I sense the barrier!”

The moment, we crossed the barrier, the ground underneath us was vibrating…

“Earth!”, both demons exclaimed in unison.

But nobody answered…

Well, and there was this breeze in the air… Last time, there had been no sign of life around… Things were different now!

On our way to the church, we passed the armada of gravestones…

But no one answered our calls despite the three of us screaming at the top of our voices…

Suddenly, the two demons stopped and both looked at me, before Omega chuckled: “You won!”

“What?”

“You won!”, the tall demon repeated, “it’s the belfry!”

“Really?”, a sceptical me spoke, “I don’t see a fucking thing with this puny light!”

“Shame, you’re not nocturnal! But soon, you’ll see!”

And indeed, after having passed a few more trees, the church came in sight. The church seemed to be perfectly well, but as we made our way to circuit the building, the damage became obvious. While the main hall was still standing, massive pieces of debris that once used to be the belfry lay on the ground…

Omega stopped in front of a particularly big chunk: “I honestly don’t want to know how that happened!”

“Look!”, Alpha said while pointing upwards, “I… I… think… Earth… went… straight… th… through… the… be… belfry!”

“Thanks for the images”, Omega replied dryly, “I really needed that and honestly don’t want to know how our dear brother smashed through those masonry… Let’s get Water out of his wet hideout!”

I followed Omega quickly while Alpha stayed behind to inspect the belfry a little longer. We passed the unharmed garden and a few metres later, reached the well. Both Omega and I leaned over the edge.

“Can you see something?”, I asked the tall demon since my light wasn’t strong enough to reach the bottom.

“No!”, Omega answered, “Water, are you down there?”

No answer…

He continued: “But I feel him! He’s hidden himself deeper… Things must have been worse than I first thought… Well, let’s get him out of there… Please, step back! You don’t want to get all wet!”

I quickly took a few steps backwards while Omega lifted his massive arms and his rings began to glow…

But nothing happened…

He looked at me: “It’ll take a while since this is not my element!”

The first drops of water finally emerged from the well… Drops soon turned into streams that quickly increased in size… Everything illuminated by my electric torch… While I was wondering how much water could possibly be down there, the streams began to turn… Transforming into this kind of vortex… The middle of the maelstrom turned black as the amount of water decreased…

Omega lowered his arms: “Water, how nice of you to have finally decided to show up!”


	30. Reunion II...

A black figure emerged out of the vortex, stormed forward and took Omega in a fierce embrace. I heard a few words exchanged but thanks to the demonic language I couldn’t understand a single bloody word. The tall demon padded his smaller brothers’ back and finally switched back to Swedish: “I’m, too, glad that we’re reunited! All of us are back to get you out of here! Look, even Papa came along!”

Fractions of a second later, a completely wet mess jumped into my arms. But because I was neither as well built as Omega nor was Water as small and lightweight as Earth, the impact from the jump both send us to the ground. Since there was still plenty of water on the ground and Water himself wasn’t exactly what one would call dry, I was soaked within seconds. 

“Good to see you too, Water!”, I welcomed the wet demon. Despite the mask that covered most of his face, I could see the friendly yet extremely shy smile in Waters eyes.

“Water! What a manoeuvre!”, Omega remarked from behind of us, “so unlike you! Were they really that bad while Alpha and I were gone?”

Shy Water didn’t answer but it seemed like Omega on the other side wasn’t expecting any sort of reply. Omega simply approached us: “Let me help you two up!”

Strong hands pulled me up to my feet…

“Water, you got Papa all wet!”, Omega chuckled playfully.

The shy demon looked at his feet and stuttered nervously: “S.. Sorry!”

I put my hand on his shoulder: “No problem, Water! Can happen! I’ll dry sooner or later!”

“I suggest sooner!”, Omega intervened, “we don’t want you to catch a cold! Water, you know how quickly you get cold yourself when you’re not drifting in your substance… While you dry yourself, I’d suggest you help Papa, too! Don’t worry about showing your powers! Papa has already seen plenty!”

Somebody seemed to be in need of lots of encouragement…

But the shy demon finally lifted his arms and began his work. With utter fascination, I watched as Waters skin, at least the few parts that weren’t covered by black fabric, started to glow bluely… It almost seemed like his skin was covered with millions and millions of tiny blue sapphires… The puddles on the ground disappeared as the water merged with the shy demon… Particles of water emerged from my wet clothes and gravitated towards Water… My clothes felt pleasantly dry now…

“Enough, Water!”, Omega warned his brother, “you don’t want to desiccate Papa!”

The blue glow disappeared…

“You know, Water here can absorb and store massive amounts of his element within himself”, Omega explained, “since the human body mostly consists of said substance, I think it’s better to stop before someone absorbs too mu…”

“Hi, Water!”, Alpha jumped around a tree and hugged his brother, “I… I… wanted… to… wait… ‘til… you… you… were… d… dry! You… know… I… I… hate… to…g… get… all… wet! Earth… and… Air… still… haven’t… sh… shown… up?”

“They will! Sooner or later”, Omega answered, “since there isn’t much space for earthquakes and storms within the boundaries of this property… Tell me, Water, who was chasing whom?”

Water freed himself from Alphas arms: “Ai… Air’s… a… after… Earth…”

Omega spoke more to himself: “Earth must have been a bad, bad boy again!”

On our way back to the church, I suddenly felt the ground under my feet me vibrating. Fractions of a seconds later, I found myself buried underneath a pile of bodies while strong winds were raging above us. All had fallen but Omega whose feet were floating centimetres above ground. He had stretched his arms out like pulling an invisible rope while his rings were shining brightly.

When the earthquake had finally passed, I was able to sit up again: “Alpha, what’s going on and what the heck is Omega doing?”

It was hard to understand him, since the winds were still raging on…

“I… I… think… he’s… trying… to… catch… Air!”

Well, catching the chaser first seemed to be a good idea… But Omega looked so concentrated…

But Alpha was so kind to explain while the both of us got on their feet again with strong winds still surrounding us: “The… e… element… of… air… is… a… l… lot… har… harder… to… summon… than… water… So… something… a… about… de… density! R… right, Water?”

The shy demon had finally made it to his feet but didn’t utter a single word and instead fixated his eyes on Omega. Well, we all did… But Alphas words must be true… Summoning Air really seemed a lot harder… I could feel the amount of energy in the air… Well, it was visible, too, since the tall bulky demon was soon surrounded by an aura of purple… The speed of the wind increased and the three of us threw ourselves back on the ground again… It felt like being caught in a tornado… 

My eyes opened wide in surprise, when the winds really turned into a miniature tornado… The tornado soon turned black and a tall slender figure emerged and the winds thankfully ceased… Air, who seemed to be genuinely upset, stood there… Suddenly, he turned towards Omega… The aura of purple disappeared as the argument began…   
Argument was a bit far-fetched since only Omega seemed to be talking… Air was probably communicating nonverbally… 

Water, Alpha and I remained on the ground… Who knew what could possibly happen.

I looked at the fiery demon who was listening in concentration: “Alpha, if you can hear them, can you please tell me what Air is saying?”

“That… he… is… up… upset!”

“What an observation”, I rolled my eyes, “what else?”

“He… he’s… angry… be… because… he… almost… had… him! Now, Omega… is… trying… to… calm… him… which… will… take… a… while…”

“Alpha, would you meanwhile care to explain something to me?”

“Sure!”

“Do you all possess power over each other or is it just Omega?”

“Ehhh… well”, Alpha began to babble, “s… some… of… us… get… b… better along… than… o… others… elemental… wise….”

“No!”, a weak voice interrupted him from my other side, in fact, it was so quiet that I almost overheard it, “it’s… only Omega since… he is of quintessence… the element… that’s unites them… all!”

A baffled me looked at Water: “Thanks for the explanation!” 

The shy demon turned red without replying…

Alpha did that for him, sort of: “Water, I… I… never… knew… you… could… talk!”

Water inhaled deeply… Yet no sound escaped his mouth… Somehow, I felt sorry for him: “Yes, Alpha! He CAN talk and his Swedish is a lot better than yours!”

But before the upset Alpha could say anything in return, Omegas voice interrupted our little argument: “I think, the three of you are safe to get on your feet again! Air has calmed down! Let’s get Earth!”

We all got back on our feet. I approached the tallest demon: “Hi, Air!”

Air only eyed me with his dark eyes, arms locked behind his back…

Omega put a hand on my shoulder: “That’s pretty hopeless! Air doesn’t talk much! The one time when he had to apologize to you was one of the very, very rare exceptions… I sometimes wonder who’d win a silence contest… Air or Wat…”

“My money is on Air!”, I spoke quickly, “I mean Water just talked to me!”

“Really!”, Omega chuckled, “that’s interesting! He must really like you… Alpha, what?”

The fiery demon was waving his hand in front of Omegas face: “Can… we… get… Earth… now?”

Omega sighed: “As impatient as always?”

Alpha nodded eagerly: “Yes!”

Omega rolled his eyes: “Then go ahead and find him!”

Air turned slightly as Alpha launched off. During the entire conversation, he had remained like a statue…

Omega smacked me on my back playfully: “Let’s get that little fucker!”

He grabbed Air by the shoulder and the two followed Alpha while continuing their, at least for my ears one-sided argument. I just watched in utter astonishment how Omega dragged Air behind him…

Suddenly, something wet and squishy enveloped my hand…

“A… Are… you coming?”, Water asked sheepishly more than one tremble in his voice.

“Of course!”

While we followed the others, Water didn’t let go of my hand. I tried to engage him in a conversation, but the shy demon remained quiet… 

As we approached Omega and Air, who had finally stopped, Alpha jumped off a tree to our right: “We’ve… got... him!”

But I couldn’t see the little troublemaker anywhere: “Where is he?”


	31. Reunion III...

“Right under my feet at least 75 if not more metres deep in the ground”, Omega said while pointing towards the spot where he was standing.

“Are you getting him out of there?”

“Well, he’s definitively not getting out of there by himself!”, Omega smiled, “but trust me, I’ve done that before and it’s way easier to summon him than any of the others!”

“Pity for him!”

All heads turned… Four pairs of eyes fixated on Air…

“That was unexpected!”, Omega remarked with a wink of his hand.

Air only rolled his dark eyes and locked his arms in front of his chest impatiently waiting for Omega to finally summon the last of his brothers…

“Don’t look at me like that! It’s not my fault stuff like that always happens! And now, step back! I can’t promise for anything!”

I felt Water pulling me backwards while Omega lifted his arms for the third time tonight. Underneath me, the ground began to vibrate, but not like before… Much more pleasant in a way and not like an actual earthquake… Just when I was asking myself when finally, something would happen, Water pointed towards a few fissures in the ground that I knew hadn’t been there moments ago… Small particles of dust emerged from those splits…

“Is that Earth?”, I asked in utter fascination.

Since Water didn’t answer, I was very thankful for Alphas words: “Well… parts… of… him!”

With eyes wide open, I watched as the dust slowly turned into something gigger and compacter… And I came to the conclusion that this, the whole turning-to-dust-thing, must be the way how the smallest demon was able to travel through solid ground…

Once back in his solid shape, the tiny demon caught sight of Air and immediately tried to jump back into the ground… An invisible shield in the shape of a big bowl prevented him from doing so, thus leaving no choice to the whirling mess of dust but to assemble itself…

“Earth!”, Omega spoke with a thundering voice, “Air promised to stop chasing you! We’re here to get you out of this place! If you give us your word to stop escaping back into the ground, I’ll let you down! You have my word!”

The tiny demon finally nodded his head, but it became obvious that he didn’t fully trust his brothers’ words since he tried to get as much distance between himself and Air without making it look like he was about to escape again… He spoke to Omega in the demonic tongue…

Omega translated for me: “Earth here asks, what we’re going to do next, since all of us are gathered here.”

Five pairs of demonic eyes, four blue ones and Airs dark orbits, were fixated on me…

“Well”, I began, “that’s right… All of us are finally here… Time to get everyone out of here… or does any of you need to pack?”

Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that question…

While Omega joked that he already had his most prized possessions with him – Alpha and me – and therefore wouldn’t be needing anything else, the three remaining demons suddenly forgot all about their previous disputes and disappeared into the dark…

I looked at Omega: “What is this all about? I thought there isn’t much here that… At least nothing valuable…”

“Oh, before we actually leave, we need to pick up that whole bunch of your insignia!”, Omega suddenly remembered, “as for the others, I think Air wants to take his books and notes while the other two don’t wanna leave their achievements behin…”

“Achievements?”

“All those plants that grow without sunlight!”

“Should I be worried about that?”

“Pray, they won’t try to hybridize yet again… Last time when we were still living in the light, they almost succeeded at creating carnivorous plants!”

“Carnivorous like eating insects or are we talking about something bigger?”

“Bigger!”

“Worms, mice, birds, rabbits…”

“Big like human beings! At least almost! The biggest thing, this plant managed to digest was a full-grown pig… But even so, they’d have to start from scratch if they even remember… That plant grew in the middle of the maze, you know, behind the mansion… I went looking for it and luckily, it withered without their care…”

“Good!”, Alpha remarked from the side, “that… thing… o… once… almost… bit… my… hand… off… when… I… I… I… tried… to… burn… it!”

“Alpha, is that why you hate plants so much?”

Omega chuckled: “He hated plants way before that! This plant only increased things…”

“Alpha, why did you try to burn it in the first place besides that it sounds like a highly dangerous thing?”

“It… it… ate… my… kitten!”

“Ohh… That’s totally understa….”

“Before we tear open those old wounds again”, Omega intervened, “Alpha, you have mourned more than long enough and this damn plant is gone! Let’s focus on our task and get out of here!”

Omega turned on his heels and headed back to the church with big steps. Alpha and I followed while thoughts of carnivorous plants and little kittens flooded my mind… And I decided that I’d indeed buy him a parrot! I knew that Alpha loved animals and the last few days he had been very eager to improve his Swedish, speaking it at every possible occasion… Yeah, I know… the content of his talking was dubious most of the time, but I had to reward his efforts!

The huge ebon double door of the old church swung open ahead of us. We crossed the massive hall without paying much attention to all debris on the ground, smashed furniture and the massive hole in the ceiling where the belfry once had been. Once in the kitchen, we took the stairs downwards to the corridor with the six doors. All were closed but one…  
The one with Airs symbol. The room behind was massive and far more spacious than it appeared from the outside. The only pieces of furniture I spotted beside all the massive shelves of books, that I guesses were usually in strict order, were a small bed close to the door and an ancient looking desk without a chair… Maybe Air preferred to stand… Well, he currently was piling up books on the ground…

Omega inspected the quickly increasing pile: “I hope you’re not planning on taking all 137 exemplars of the Satanic Songbook and the remaining 84 copies of the Unholy Verses!”

Air looked up from a couple of books in his hands and fixated Omega with his dark eyes.

Omega shook his head: “No! Since I’m the one who has to levitate all the books, I say: Not more than two copies of each text! Trust me, Air! There are ways to preserve the content of these books!”

Air still didn’t look convinced. 

“Air, there is this invention called ‘digitalization’! And you can still reprint all those texts! Those copies wouldn’t be of any use since humanity can’t read the hand scribe in there and deciphering would be a very laborious job! Sometimes Air, you have to go with time and accept the chang…”

But Air didn’t listen. The tallest demon moved very quickly and totally unexpected… To rip a book out of Alphas hands and threw it back on the pile…

“Fine!”, Alpha said defensively, “I’m… not… b… burning… any!”

Air turned back to his shelves…

“I hope you will be finished with your selection once we got Papas insignia”, Omega spoke while heading for the door, “see you back in a few minutes, Air!”

Suddenly, the speed of Airs movements increased magically while the rest of us left the room. It didn’t take long to pack and soon, a ball containing all the valuable pieces floated behind Omega whose rings were shining brightly. 

He sighed: “Alpha, remember how much time we spend here… Kinda strange to leave it all behind…”

“Yeah! Still… let’s… get… out!”, impatient as always, Alpha replied without wasting any time for nostalgia.

After scanning the room one last time, Omega finally followed his brother. To our surprise, Air stood next to a slightly smaller pile of books… The books joined the floating ball behind us as we headed outside to the garden where we assumed to find Earth and Water. 

“Are you guys ready?”, Omega asked the two smallest demons who were crouching over a few plants in the ground while others sat beside the garden in some buckets ready to be transported… Both demons shook their heads obviously still undecided which plants to take with them…

Omega sighed audibly: “I don’t want to stay here for all eternity because of some plants! Hurry up! And just one quick warning: No crazy experiments, hybridizations or suspiciously tall and dangerous plants!”

While Water nodded his head, the disappointment in Earths eyes was obvious…

“Earth, if you don’t comply, there might be nobody to stop Alpha from burning the plants!”

The smallest demon finally gave in and a few minutes later, we were ready to go. Groups soon formed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW: I haven't forgotten about the smut...


	32. Reunion IV...

Despite the former threat of having his beloved plants being burned, Earth had climbed on Alphas shoulders and seemed to be drilling his brother with questions. I was walking behind them and watched with utter fascination as every so often one of the lower branches almost knocked Earth off Alphas shoulders. Meanwhile, since their conversation was entirely in the demonic language, I listened to the one-sided conversation behind me. I had to guess Airs questions since the conversation only consisted of Omega replying to whatever Air transmitted mentally… At least Omega replied in audible Swedish! 

I, on the other side, was stuck with Water. The shy demon had grabbed my hand the moment we had set off… His wet and squishy fingers hadn’t let go of my hand ever since… I had tried my best to engage him in a conversation but his shyness once again had kicked in… And he only stared at me with eyes that reminded me of puppies on steroids…

I was just listening to Omega rambling about the biggest scientific and technological breakthrough of the last 160 years, when Water stopped abruptly and let out the first sound since we had sallied: a high-pitched amused chuckle…

We must have reached the border of the sealed church. Whereas Alpha had passed through without further complications, Earth had been knocked of his brothers’ shoulders and slammed hard on the ground. The smallest demon jumped on his feet and began to curse loudly, to my surprise even in Swedish! He still tried to pass through the invisible barrier but nothing happened. 

Omega stepped next to me: “I think you need to allow those three to leave this place!”

“What do I have to say?”

“I don’t know! That’s up to you!”

Absolutely clueless, I waved my arms: “Air, Water, Earth! You’re allowed to leave!”

The moment those words had crossed my lips, Earth who had leaned against the invisible barrier lost his stand and once again landed on the ground.

“And that’s it?”

Omega shrugged his massive shoulder: “Unspectacular yet 100% effective as long as you mean it! Let’s go!”

Air followed Omega without hesitation and passed right through the barrier with the plants, the books and the insignia floating behind them. Earth meanwhile crawled back on Alphas back. Only Water eyed the invisible barrier with suspicion. This time, I took his hand: “It’s alright!”

The shy demon closed his eyes and took a nervous step forwards and another one…

“See, Water! We made it!”

I found myself in a fierce hug… 

“Thank you!”, the shy demon whispered into my ear.

“Let’s go! I don’t want to lose the others!”

Hand in hand, we followed the massive convoy of floating objects and chatting demons…

After a while, I heard Water mumble something…

“Can you please repeat that?”

“Ehhh…”, the shy demon stuttered, “can… y…y…you… p…p…please… tell… me… s…s…something… a…a…about… the… w…w…world?”

“Anything specific?”

Water shook his head and I went on to tell him everything I could think of that might interest him. The shy demon listened eagerly and occasionally asked me to elaborate on a few things…

During the last stop before we reached the car, Omega took me aside: “Un-fucking-believable! I cannot believe what’s happening! I don’t think Water has ever socialised with anybody that quickly! For his standards, that’s a pretty fucking long conversa…”

“Well, he’s not talking much… Mostly listening to me…”

“He never talks much! If you know Water, then you’ll conclude that this is almost as close to a real conversation as it gets… At least with him! He must really like and trust you! Always bare that in mind!”

A couple hours later, we finally reached the car. Oddly, it was night again… Why was it always dark when we got out of those damned woods? At least the sky was clear and the three newly freed demons joined by Alpha observed the striking beauty of the firmament above them with their eyes drifting further and further into the endless depths of space…

Omega looked at me and shrugged his shoulders: “I can’t blame them! The sky’s truly magnificent tonight! Still, I want to get rid of my freight! I’ve levitated these books long enough!”

I was still searching my pockets for the key, when I heard the car unlock. I smirked as the tailgate opened by itself: “Or we do it your way!”

The books stacked themselves neatly in the trunk followed by the plants. I finally found my key and looked at the sky-observing demons: “Boys, shall we?”

The only one moving was Alpha who took his usual seat behind the driver. 

Omega rolled his eyes: “You heard our Papa! Get in the horseless coach!”

Two pairs of eyes finally moved to the ground… Water stepped next to me not sure which seat to choose while Airs gaze was more than sceptical…

Omega stepped next to his taller brother: “Air, this is the current way of human travel! It’s like a coach only with the horses missing… It’s perfectly save! Papa’s an experienced driver! Earth, get moving!”

While Air and Water remained frozen and unsure, the smallest demon moved quickly… Very quickly… His feet left the ground to launch himself into the vehicle…

But Omega caught him by the back of his cassock: “I don’t think that’s a good idea! You can’t sit still and the last thing we need during your first car ride, is you jumping out of the window, causing an accident or something alike! Earth, you’re definitely not sitting next to Alpha! I’ll keep an eye on you! The rest of you, get in the car!”

Omega climbed in the back of the new bus, while carrying Earth under one of his massive arms. Keeping a close eye on Earth was an understatement… The massive arm around the tiny demon basically immobilized him… 

“Air, please get in! There should be plenty of leg space up front”, Omega tried to convince the quiet demon, “I’m only slightly smaller than you and I sat there plenty of times!”  
So, this was already about the leg space…

Finally, Air moved… I had to help him though… Him entering the car vaguely reminded me of a caveman playing computer games for the first time… It was just an unfitting combination… Air and new technology… Water took the last remaining seat next to Alpha who sat there his legs opened wide and seemed to occupy as much space as possible… Glad that all demons finally were in the car, I took my seat, started the engine and set off to St. Lucifer…

I drove straight to the property since I was too tired for another adventure… During the entire drive, Air next to me remained like a statue, while Waters eyes fixated me and Earth pressed his face eagerly against a window to watch the passing cars after Omega had let go of him under the condition to behave himself…

The massive iron gates magically swung open. I stopped the car right in front of the mansion… Earth had already exited the vehicle and stormed up the stairs towards the entrance before I had even undone my seatbelt…

“Welcome home!”, I said to the remaining demons over all the grumbling noises from Omega who had to climb out of the back of the car. While I waited for the others to join me, Air didn’t bother to wait. He passed me without spending another look on his brothers and disappeared. When the remaining ones of us finally entered the massive entrance hall, neither the smallest nor the tallest demon were anywhere in sight…

“Finally home!”, Water mumbled next to me, his hand again holding mine…

I smiled at him before asking Omega: “Where do you think are the others?”

Omega answered me while he began to undo the laces of his mask: “Air’s probably in the library checking out what time did to his treasures and Earth should be in his room looking after his plants!”

Meanwhile Water stared at Alpha and Omega as they both uncovered their faces. Alpha put his ‘Violent Gentleman’-cap back in place, straightened his parrot print shirt and stuck out his tongue: “Ahhhh… Water! Surprise!”

The shy demon jumped. Seeking for help, he looked at Omega with big eyes…

The tall bulky demon put one of his big ringed hands on Waters shoulder and smiled reassuringly: “It’s alright, Water! Over the last weeks, Alpha and I came to the conclusion that our new Papa is more than worthy and can be trusted to see who we really are! You can unmask, too, if you want to! We’re finally home!”

A shiver went through the shy demons’ body: Re… Re… Really?”

“Yeah!”, Omega tried to encourage his brother, “our secrets are save with him! We can trust him! In fact, I think you already do!”

Waters squishy hand quickly let go of mine…

Omega shook his head: “Water, I’ve been watching you ever since we got you out of that well!”

“Okay… okay”, the shy demon mumbled and looked at Omega obviously awaiting him to explain something… But the tall bulky demon didn’t: “Water, first, he has to see!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soory for the little cliffhanger...


	33. Waters secret...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Robin for your suggestion!!! I know, it took a few chapters to appear but it's finally here!

Waters shaking finger slowly moved up to push back the hood of his cassock. Omega eventually had to help him to untie the laces of his mask but from there on, Water was on his own, as a shaky hand still held the mask in place. I heard him take one last deep breath before the mask fell to the ground with an audible sound. 

The first thing that stroke my eyes despite the black balaclava still covering a vast majority of Waters head, was how round and chubby his face appeared to be in comparison to the overtly sharp facial features of his brothers. Shortly after, Water tugged the balaclava down to free his shoulder-long blond hair…The demon smiled at me nervously. 

When I caught sight of his long eyelashes and the rather soft and chubby cheeks and the whole bone structure, a thought crossed my mind: “Wait! Are… you… Is… he…”

I looked towards Omega who smiled widely: “Yes, he is!”

“Not that I have a problem with that! But you call him… ehhh… her ‘brother’!?! What’s that all about?”

“Let me explain this to you”, Omega began while Water still smiled at me nervously, “when we arrived here, among the first things we witnessed was the torture of a woman accused of alleged witchery! Death was her salvation… Not pleasant at all to watch, let me tell you that! Back then, the treatment of woman in general wasn’t that great and from what I heard, it could have been a lot worse… At least in comparison to other places in the world... We didn’t want anything bad happening to Water… Of course, we’re demons but we weren’t really sure how people would react if they found out about him… Well, since we all were wearing these cassocks, it was easy to hide him appearance-wise… Then, we found out about the whole pronouns and gender thing in your language…”

“Don’t you have that in the demonic language?”

“No…”

“Call yourselves lucky! I bet it must be very convenient to just address someone…”

Omega laughed: “It’s actually a lot, and with ‘a lot’ I really mean much more complicated in our language than in any other human language! We differentiate between a ton more things like kind of demon, in our case elements, age, strength, development, rank, and much more… But gender doesn’t matter when it comes to pronouns! So, no his or her! Where was I… We decided that it was better for HIS safety to address HIM as our brother and ever since, we stuck with that!”

I looked at Water: “If you want me to, I can do that, too!”

Water smiled widely and showed me his perfect unsharpened teeth for the first time: “P… P… Please!”

I smiled back: “And Water, you can really be proud of yourself! You look like a proper human being!”

Waters chubby cheeks turned a bright red…

“Yeah! He surpassed us all!”, Omega threw in, “and on top of that, he managed to nail this male appearance! Papa, let me assure you that he didn’t look like this a few years prior! The only thing he’s struggling with so far is the facial hair!”

“And I’m sure, you’ll even manage that, Water…”

But I was cut off by something that sounded like crushing china or glass…

“Earth!”, Omega said while shaking his head, “I wonder what took him so long to break something! Let’s see what be destroyed this time!”

While walking upstairs, Water took my had again and smiled at me… Simply adorable…

Shortly before Omega reached the smallest demons’ door, another thing inside shattered…

In there, we found Earth crouching in between a mess of shattered flowerpots, soil and plants…

“Little brother!”, Omega chuckled, “I’m a bit disappointed! I honestly though there would be more smashed and broken things in here by now!”

The tiny demon looked up and his eyes widened…

“Before you even ask: you can unmask!”, Omega cut him short, “and let me please help you with all this mess! I promise to be careful with your precious plants!”

Earth looked more than a bit sceptical when Omegas rings began to glow and the first pieces of the flowerpots began to reassemble themselves but didn’t protest. Eventually, everything was back in place and the tiny demon ripped the masquerade off his head…

Somehow, he reminded me of Alpha with his overtly sharp facial features, the bit of beard and his long fangs… But then again Alpha didn’t have long light-brown hair tied to a bun and Earth lacked his brothers’ many facial scars…

Water let go of my hand and kneeled down next to a plant. Earth joined him immediately. Omega only rolled his eyes: “Let’s leave those plant lovers alone and get some sleep!”

Once in the big bedroom with the massive bed, it didn’t take Alpha long to start snoring on Omegas shoulder while I rested on the other despite his statement to stay awake to listen to our conversation.

Big blue eyes looked down on me. I was dead tired but still couldn’t sleep with all the things on my mind… Big soft fingers moved through my hair: “Are you thinking about tomorrow?”

“Of course!”

“Don’t worry about that! Tomorrow, the six of us will sit at a table and discuss everything to a great extent! Everything concerning our legal documents, your apartment, our musical plans, Alphas fucking parrot and most importantly your first contact with hell! But don’t worry about that! At least, not now! You need your sleep after those two days walking through the woods!”

I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to empty my mind. I felt Omegas lips on my forehead and slowly opened my eyes: “Omega, stop! Look at the door! What is this?”

Something was in front of the door with the moving shadows giving away whatever was out there…

“That’s only Water sneaking around! Don’t worry about him!”

“But what’s he doing out there?”

“Probably thinking about whether he should dare to ask if he can come in!”

“What”, my eyes shot up to look at Omega, “why would he do that and I thought he is… he is shy… And that… he and Earth… are a thing!”

Omega laughed heartily causing Alphas head on his shoulder to bounce: “He is shy but not when it comes to the intimate parts of life! He’s certainly not innocent! Come on, Papa! You’ve seen the looks he’s giving you!”

“But he and Earth… Us…”

Omega chuckled: “From your human perspective that would indeed be an obstacle… That’s one of the very few human things I never really understood! Why try so desperately to bind yourself to one person sex-wise?”

“What do you suggest?”

“We believe that love is where your heart and spirit are and not where you decide to put your genitals!”

“Interesting approach! Are you telling me, by any chance, that you guys are basically screwing around with each other all the time?”

Omega raised his scar-streaked eyebrow: “Did you really say that?”

I nodded my head.

Omega chuckled: “And you used to be such an innocent boy!”

“Well, you’ve been very busy corrupting me! So, please, enlighten me!”

“Uncensored version?”

“Of course!”

Omega smiled: “Well, some of us have our partners but we don’t mind to get cosy with others from time to time… Which doesn’t mean that everyone has fucked each other… If I’m right, only two of us have been intimate with all their broth…”

“Certainly Alpha and Earth! Right?”

My opposite chuckled: “Alpha’s too obvious, isn’t he! But your wrong with Earth! He and Air have tried it numerous times… Absolutely hopeless since they can’t decide upon who bottoms first! Always ends in bad arguments and often in total destruction! Once, I had to repair the entire main hall because things went out of control! Luckily, they haven’t tried in quite some time!”

My thoughts began to roll. I just couldn’t image Air doing something like that and after what Omega had just told me: “You…?”

“No!”, Omega laughed, “Air and I decided a long time ago that it would be for the better for the both of us if we don’t try it…”

“Seriously, it’s Water?”

“Sure! He’s a great lay!”

“Are you implying that I should…”

“Of course! You won’t regret it! He is a master in his craft! And be honest to yourself! You’ve thought about it, don’t you?”

“Yes, but why should I… sleep with him?”

“His pussy is magic and the two of you would get a lot closer! Water would loosen up to you even faster which comes to your advantage since a close connection to ‘your’ ghouls plays a crucial role in the decision process of the impartial judge concerning your initiation. Let me be honest with you”, Omega said, “you already have Alphas and my total support. And Water is head over heels in love with you… He’ll be by far the easiest one to get close to! You have the language barrier with Earth, the fact that he likes his plants way too much and his knack of getting himself into trouble… And Air is very hard to get through… It will take years!”

“You suggest to sleep with Water for my own advantage?”

“Partly! But simultaneously you’d have a ton of fun! Trust me, you won’t regret it! But let him take the first step! Don’t push him! It’ll be beneficial for him to come out of his shell! And now, sleep!”

Sleeping after such a conversation… But somehow, I managed to enter the land of dreams fairly quickly… And unmasked Water seemed to follow me wherever my unconsciousness drifted…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on Instagram under throughpestilencesandfamines (what a surprise...)


	34. Decisions And Approaches...

The next morning, the six of us sat around a table in the kitchen. Omega sat opposite of me and rolled his eyes… He had insisted on this meeting in order to discuss our future… But so far, not much had happened… It had been hard enough, in fact, to assemble everyone…

Upon waking up, Omega with a guilty expression on his face had asked me if everything was alright after last night’s talk since he wasn’t sure if he had been a bit too directly with me… But I had told him not to worry about his choice of words and in return thanked him for being that honest with me… Afterwards he had left me with the impossible task of waking Alpha while he had set off to collect the other three demons…

I looked around the table. Alpha on my left was still more asleep than awake… In fact, he was back in la la land… Well, most demons at the table weren’t much more actively involved in the ongoing discussion... Except Omega… The tall bulky demon had carefully placed himself in-between Earth and Air to prevent them from fighting again… The latter, now sitting between a peacefully snoring Alpha with his head on the table and a talking Omega, was the only one who had refused to unmask himself, sat there still wearing his cassock and remained like a statue starring at poor Water opposite of him… First, Air had refused to sit at all but Omega had finally convinced him… As of yet, the tallest demon hadn’t said a thing… Earth hadn’t said anything either and seemed to be more interested in the small flowerpot in front of him… At least he had shown up without the mask…

The only one besides Omega and me who really seemed to pay attention was Water on my right… The shy demon was holding my hand under the table and couldn’t take his eyes off me… To all our surprise, he had shown up in human clothing. I had no idea where he had got the inspiration from… But I really thought he looked cute in this tight black jeans, the black shirt and the light military jacket…

Omegas hand slammed hard on the table… Alphas head shut up from the table: “D… Did… I… miss… something?”

“As I said before, and I hope all of you are listening”, Omega raised his voice, “we need to decide what we’re going to do next! First, and most important, we need to talk about Papa and his safety! Do you all, like Alpha and I, agree that he is the one?”

Water immediately nodded his head… Earth followed a few seconds later… Air remained motionless…

Omega smiled at me: “Even though Air didn’t move, he agrees! And building on from that, do you all agree that he is, although we have only known him for a very short amount of time, ready for the next step? You all remember last time when they found us! We don’t know if THEY are still active. We can’t risk that a second time! A successful initiation, in case it works, would prevent that. Do you agree to risk it and introduce him to the judge?”

Water again was the first to nod his head… But this time, Earth didn’t follow… Water looked at his smaller brother and opened his mouth for the first time since he had sat down next to me: “Come on, Earth!”

Earths eyes remained on his flowerpot. Seconds later, something began to spring… Growing taller and taller… A black rose… When the flower had reached its desired size, Earth looked at me…

“Yes!”, was all he said.

Omega took over from there: “Thanks for this dramatic move, Earth! After everyone has finally agree…”

“Wait!”, I interrupted him, “does this mean Air has agreed, too?” 

“Yeah, even before Water!”

I couldn’t believe it and starred, totally baffled, at Air: “Thank… you, Air! For your… trust!”

No reaction…

Omega broke the silence: “Yeah… Well, since we all agree on that… When shall we do it? I suggest this weekend… What date do you suggest then?”

Air had shaken his head… All eyes focused on the tallest demon…

“Air suggest to do it on the 13th. He says the connection to hell will be better on this day since it’s a Friday and simultaneously full moon… Can we wait ‘til then?”

All agreed. This meant almost a full month of preparation for me…

“As for the remaining topics on our list”, Omega continued, “I’ve arranged a meeting with the major of Linköping for tomorrow to get our legal documents! I expect all of you to behave themselves. If you do, I’m sure Papa will take some of you to the pet shop and others to the garden centre… After that, I think it will be useful for some of you to work on their Swedish… Both spoken and written… I’m sure Papa can help you with that, right?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, lessons start tomorrow! And we need to figure out this band thing… Papa would like to spread our message through music… You know, find the right instrument for each and every one… But first, we need electricity in every room! I will take care of that… Starting now with your room”, Omega looked at me, “meanwhile, I think the others can help you move your stuff! Last night, I couldn’t sleep and went ahead… And gave notice to quit your apartment…”

“Go on”, I encouraged him.

Omega laughed: “Your landlord was actually very happy to receive that mail and said he’d help you to get out of there as fast as possible. What about if the five of you move the stuff today and I begin with the electricity?”

“Don’t we need some sort of larger vehicle to move all this stuff?”

“They can teleport everyth…”

“You can teleport?”

“Did we forget to tell you?”

“YES!”

“Now you know! And before you ask: we couldn’t have teleported to that church! Air, Earth, Alpha and Water, are you helping Papa moving his stuff?”

Airs chair suddenly was empty.

Omega rolled his eyes: “Library!”

Meanwhile Earth grabbed his flowerpot and tried to slide under the table… But Omega grabbed him by the back of his cassock: “Where are you going? Don’t you want to help your Papa?”

The smallest demon violently shook his hand and said something in the demonic language…

“Earth says he needs to look after his plants”, Omega translated for me.

“Let him go!”

Omega opened his massive hand and within seconds, Earth was gone…

“Why did you do that?”, Omega looked at me with questioning eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders: “If you’ll be busy with the electricity, no one will be there to watch over him! And I’m positive that Alpha and Water here will do an amazing job without him, right?”

Water nodded his head eagerly while Alpha showed me his impressive fangs: “Sure!”

“Then how does this teleportation thing work?”

Omega grabbed Alpha by the shoulder: “You know where his apartment is… Please show it to Water! As for you, Papa… Teleporting is fairly safe, quick and easy as long as you don’t let go of the one transporting you! Hold on firmly and you should be perfectly fine!”

“And if I don’t?”

“You’ll get lost! If you have luck, you might pop up somewhere and we might be able to locate you! Or you might get stuck between dimensions… Hopefully, that won’t happen! Just hold on!”

“Come, Papa!”, Alpha grabbed my hand. I saw Water step closer to the fiery demon, too, before everything went black. The next time I opened my eyes, I stood in the middle of my ‘spacious’ apartment. Good that I hadn’t eaten all the pancakes Omega had shoved on my plate earlier… My poor stomach was turning while my body felt like having been squeezed through a tiny tube…

“You’ll… get… used… to… it!”, Alpha assured me, “and… you… ha… haven’t… th... thr… thrown… up!”

“Thank you, Alpha!”, I said before sitting down on the bed to calm my rebelling stomach. Alpha simply grabbed an amp and disappeared leaving me with Water who was inspecting the busy streets…

The shy demon turned around and scanned the room: “This… is… small!”

“Yeah! It’s a wonder I survived all those years in here! I’m glad that I don’t have to worry about space anymo…”

“Nice… con… conversation?”, Alpha had appeared out of the blue, “is… it… okay… if we… put… everything… in… your… room?”

“Let’s bring everything in there for the start!”

The next few hours, we were busy packing and moving my stuff… Not much happened… Except for the one time Alpha teleported me back to the apartment after we had moved some of the heavier items that required to persons to lift them because of their size… While Alpha grabbed the next box and left immediately, I couldn’t but listen to the beautiful sound of strummed strings… I looked towards the bed where Water was currently taking a break from all the moving and teleporting… He held one of my acoustic guitars in his hands… Upon seeing me, his fingers stopped…

“Please, continue! This is beautiful!”

His nervous fingers continued to strum the strings… Somehow it was a shame that Alpha and Omega had already taken the positions on guitar… Water was at least equally talented on the axe… Sadly, Alphas arrival marked an end to that private concert…

It took us the remainder of the afternoon to move the rest of the stuff… I was fairly used to teleportation when Water transported me to St. Lucifer for the last time… The shy demon insisted on helping me tucking away my stuff… Alpha had left us after he had brought the last amp to the soon-to-be record studio one level lower… We hadn’t seen him ever since…

We were almost finished… While I put the last vinyls away, Water was folding the last of my clothes… When I walked over, I wasn’t at all surprised that the last two pieces were a black-and-white striped shirt and a heavily washed-out Morbid Angel shirt… Sometimes I was too predictable even for myself…

“Hey, Water!”, I said while grabbing his hand, “thank you for helping me with all this stuff!”

“No… problem!”

“I owe you a favour! If you…”

“No…”

“Water, if you ever should need a helping hand, someone to talk or whatever you can imagine, don’t hesitate to ask me! Is there anything I can do for you right now?”

The shy demon turned red: “Re… really? E… ev… everything?”

Without warning, the shy demon leaned forward and placed an equally shy kiss on my lips… But before the kiss could deepen, Water had already turned on his heels and quickly made his way out of the room… I followed him but when I reached the hallway, he was nowhere in sight…


	35. Feathers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chaper...

I decided to better leave him alone and instead went downstairs to inspect the progress in the soon-to-be record studio… The door was open and I heard Omegas voice… The tall bulky demon was floating under the ceiling and connecting some wires while simultaneously lecturing Alpha on the use of electricity in music… But Alpha obviously wasn’t paying close attention… I grabbed the cable he so desperately tried to put in the socket and plugged it into the guitar instead… 

“Here you go!”, I handed him the prepared and plugged-in guitar…

“That’s… were… all… these… ca… cables… go!”

Omega looked down on him: “I told you 20 minutes ago and even offered to help you!”

Alpha only shrugged his shoulders and went on to inspect the instrument in his hands… 

Omega only shook his head: “Are you and Water finished with all the stuff?”

“Yeah!”

“Anything spectacular?”

“He kissed me!”

“He… what!?”, Omega almost crashed on the ground while the guitar in Alphas hands produced a very dissonant sound…

“He kissed me!”

Omegas feet touched the ground again: “Interesting and totally unexpected developments! Who knew that he was so full of surprises! If he starts babbling like a laundry woman at tomorrow’s first Swedish lesson, I might just start wearing these outrageous pineapple shirts!”

Fortunately, Water speared him… It was early afternoon when our first Swedish lesson began…

An eventful day lay behind us… This morning, we had already met with the major of Linköping and his two administration secretaries who for whatever reason seemed to be utterly excited to see Alpha again as well as being totally fascinated by Air… I don’t know if I’d ever forget the scene when the younger one, Lilli, sat opposite of the tallest demon to write down some details for the legal documents… But as usual, Air didn’t answer nor showed any reaction whatsoever causing the woman to turn red… Eventually, Omega had to step in and answered all the questions… As did he for everyone else since no sound wanted to cross Waters lips, Earth didn’t speak the language and Alpha wanted to talk about pets rather than stating his height… To my surprise, the major and his two secretaries were rather amused than annoyed by the quirky demons’ behaviour… After they had taken pictures of the masked demons, we were ready to go and a few days from now, the papers would be ready to be picked up…

I had kept my promise and taken Alpha to the pet shop. Upon entering the owner had shot confused glances at my companion because of his masquerade… I told him that Alpha was highly allergic to sun rays and because he had just relocated to Linköping from France couldn’t explain himself… Afterwards, the guy was very helpful selecting the right bird and everything we needed for its care… An hour later, a very happy Alpha left the store with a big cage in his hands…

Now Alpha sat opposite of me and was busier with the big colourful parrot named ‘Sara’ on his shoulder than with the task in front of him… He hadn’t even written one word of the letter he was supposed to write… Well, the others weren’t any better… Air just sat there as usual… I really didn’t know what to do with him… Earth was more colouring the letters in his children’s’ book than actually trying to trace the lines… 

Only Water had surprised me despite being too shy to talk much… Before our first lesson had started, Omega had informed me about the Swedish skills of his brothers… According to Omega none of his brothers except Air could write, well they could in their demonic scribe, but not in Swedish… Let alone Earths speaking skills… It really baffled me that these demons could indeed understand everything I said and read but not response… Not written nor spoken…

So, I had decided to go for the same strategy and the same material I had used with Alpha: starting with the most basic thing of them all – the alphabet! Upon presenting the childrens’ books to the two smallest demons, Earth had immediately started to colour the letters without paying attention to my instructions while Water had only stared at me…

“Well, go ahead!”, I said to the demon and put a pencil in his shaking hand…

The shy demon looked at me with big eyes: “Why… can’t I… write… a letter… like Alpha?”

“I though… Ehh… Omega told me…”, a baffled me tried to process his words, “just go ahead!”

Water then grabbed a paper and began to scribble… 

A few minutes later, I was reading through a very heart-breaking letter in which Water thanked me for freeing him from that dark church… I looked up from the letter that besides a few small mistakes was written in accurate Swedish and in a neat handwriting: “Thanks for the letter, Water! But… I mean… your writing is great… Ehhh… Omega told me you couldn’t write…”

“I… never… told… anybody…”

“But who taught you?”

“Nobody…”

“Well, it obviously worked!”, I smiled trying not to push Water any further since he seemed pretty shy even for his standards, “Water, you can be proud of yourself! Very proud!”

I needed to talk to Omega and I had the feeling that the rest of the demons wouldn’t get anywhere today: “I think that’s it for today! We’re going to continued tomorrow! Alpha, I expect you to work on your writing despite your parrot…”

“She’s… ca… called… Sara!”

“Yeah, I know!”, I replied while rolling my eyes, “Earth, this isn’t a colouring class! You’re here to learn how to speak and write! Water, tomorrow we’ll talk a bit more and Air…”

But Air was already gone…

“Until tomorrow at 9!”

Earth jumped off his seat and disappeared fast as a lightning. Alpha, too, stood up causing the parrot on his shoulder to shortly loose its balance and let out a loud shriek. Water and I both watched as the fiery demon began to pet the parrot with on wiggly finger and then placed a kiss on its big beak: “Alpha… loves… you, Sara! One… day… you… will… a… answer… your… daddy…” 

Alpha left the room with the shrieking parrot on his shoulder repeating ‘Alpha sucks’ for his feathery friend over and over again… Water and I looked at each other and the both of us shrugged our shoulders simultaneously… The shy demon then mumbled something and turned on his heels…

“How did your first lesson go?”, Omega asked me without looking up from the wires he was currently connecting. 

I stepped in the soon-to-be record studio and inspected all the technical equipment scattered around the two connected rooms: “Mhh… Pretty mixed results… Did you know that Water can write?”

“Water can’t write!”

“He just wrote me this letter!”

This time, Omega looked up from his work and took said letter to scan it quickly: “No fucking way!”

“You really didn’t know?”

“No! I would have told you! Did he say anything?”

“Only that he taught himself…”

Omega shook his head: “Un-fuckin-believable! I wonder what’s going to happen next with him!”

“Maybe that he starts to openly talk or sing?”

“If you want to hear his wonderful voice, only wait for him to take a shower!”

“Really?”

“Of course! But don’t try to spy on him. He doesn’t like that. Alpha tried it numerous times and always ended up either completely soaked or as a big ice cube! And he have to defrost him... Let me tell you, that takes a while.... Enough of that… Any plans for the evening?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be longer... 
> 
> With quite a bit of smut...
> 
> I don't know when I'll be able to update though since the next days will be rather busy...


	36. Waters Second Face...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself!

Days passed in the same rhythm… In the morning, I’d teach the four demons as good as I could… Both Alphas written and spoken Swedish improved massively after my threat to take the parrot away… I simply had to do something to make him concentrate… Earth managed the alphabet after a week and could now write short sentences and say a few words besides his beloved cursing… Water began to speak to me in rather coherent sentences… To be honest, he didn’t need the lessons but it was nice to see him open up… And Air just sat there… I had tried everything to get through to him… Without any luck… At least Earth behaved when the tall demon was in the room…

I’d always spend the afternoons, when nothing else was up, with Omega in the now finished record studio… The RDs still hadn’t arrived but besides that, the two connected rooms were filling up quickly… The creative force of the tall bulky demon was just amazing… I considered myself fairly creative but the demon was just on another level… Soon, we had gathered quite a few ideas for future projects stretching from Pink Floyd-esque dreamy to the darkest and harshest depths of Black Metal… Occasionally Water, if he managed to command enough courage, or Alpha, when he wasn’t busy teaching his parrot that phrase, would join us… And the days floated by…

One night, after about two weeks of this rhythm, I left the studio dead tired... Omega had been on fire and was very convinced to finish the song he was currently writing while I had problems keeping my eyes open… Eventually, I had left for bed… I passed Alpha in the living room talking to his parrot and waved him ‘Good Night’… An invisible bubble surrounded the parrot on his shoulder preventing all the feathers and filth the bird produced from falling on the ground… 

A few days after the purchase of Sara, Omega who deeply despised filth had a fierce argument with his brother over the bird since he was tired of cleaning up after his brothers’ feathery friend… He had left Alpha with three options: clean after the bird, a task Alpha was too lazy for, keep the parrot in its cage or an invisible bubble against filth kept up by a tiny energy ring around on of the birds’ legs… Being of a lazy nature, Alpha had chosen the easiest option… 

I managed to lift my heavy legs up the stairs one target, the large double door of my bedroom and the big comfortable matrass behind, in mind… 

My lack of care was rewarded immediately as I slammed into someone…

“Sorry, Water!”, I mumbled and offered the shy demon a hand to pull him off the ground… Soon, he was back on his feet rubbing the back of his head…

“Water, I’m just so tired… I didn’t see you”, I tried to explain myself, “anyways, what are you up to at this late hour?”

The shy demon clearly avoided my gaze… His arms locked behind his back as he looked down and one foot began to turn on the ground… After a while, he opened his mouth… He was obviously back to stuttering again: “Ehhh… I… I… was… lonely…”

“Is Earth busy with his plants again?”

“Mhhh”, the shy demon mumbled…

“Well, Alpha’s downstairs with his parrot, Air is presumably in the library and Omega in the stud…”

“I… I… I… was… lo… locking… f… for you!”, Water stuttered while turning red.

“You have found me”, I replied awkwardly… Omega had told me that it was important for Water to make the first step… And I think he just did… I opened the door: “Wanna come in?”

Even though Water didn’t reply, he followed me inside and I closed the door behind us… The shy demon looked a bit relieved to finally be in the room of his desires… The moving shadows under the door had always given him away and I was very well aware that he had spent almost every evening since that kiss lurking in front of my door… 

“So, Water! What do you want?”

I had totally expected the shy demon to take a few steps back… But he did the exact opposite and came closer… He didn’t need words to express what he wanted… Suddenly his face was right in front of me… His formerly so innocent eyes filled with lust… His fingers went through my hair and slowly pulled be forwards… Our lips touched… I loved the soft yet slightly wet texture of my opposites’ lips and the innocently slow and exploring nature of the kiss…

Of course, my heart belonged to Alpha and Omega but it was a nice change to not have to watch out for Alphas sharp fangs all the time and remain with your feet on the ground while kissing your opposite… And the adorable Water did a hell of a good job… Somehow, the shy demon had won his own special place in my heart… 

Our lips parted… I shortly felt Waters breathing on my neck before he moved upwards to whisper in my ear: “I want you… Ever since I first saw you and I know that you want me, too!”

Fractions of a second later, our lips touched again… Only deeper and more intense… His hands moved under my shirt and pulled me closer while mine moved through his blond shoulder-long hair… Meanwhile, his words were floating through my mind… And still baffled me… Well, he had spoken without his usual stutter… His voice lacking all the shyness and nervousness it usually bore… And for the first time, I had sensed this cute melodic undertone in his speech…

Waters tongue pushed forward… In contrast to his brothers, only one tip came in contact with mine… But it wasn’t any less exciting… After a while, I finally managed to identify Waters taste: something fresh like lemon and mint… But the longer we kissed, the ‘heavier’ he tasted and in the end, it almost felt like having drunken very intoxicating red wine… It was hard to explain... But like the demon himself, his specific taste was full of mysteries, surprises and hard to pin down…Meanwhile, Waters fingers on my back got firmer…

Our kiss broke and demanding blue eyes looked at me: “This piece of fabric is rather hindering… Would you mind if I take it off?”

I smiled: “Go ahead!”

Water gripped the bottom of the shirt and tucked it off me… He took a moment to admire my now undressed upper half before he pulled me closer again and continued our kiss while his fingers traced over every bit of exposed flesh they could find… Water was a bit quicker and more demanding than I had expected…

He used my next breathing pause to quickly rip the shirt of his body and stood in front of me smiling widely… Now, I was the one inspecting my opposite… And it was more than obvious that the usually so shy demon had been very successful at transforming not only his face but his entire body… His shoulders were too broad to be female… His slightly haired chest was too flat with its tiny yet extremely cute nipples… The highlighted symbol on the left side of his chest was shining in a bright light-blue… And his hips were lacking any sort of female curves… The tiny bit of a belly matched Waters chubby cheeks and somehow, his whole frame reminded me of a tinier version of my beloved Omega… 

But before my mind could process anything more about the sight in front of me, Water stepped closer and lifted me up… Like I weighed nothing… And I wondered why these demons always had to show me that they were so much stronger than I was… Hopefully that would change soon…

He let me down in front of the bed and pushed me back playfully… I landed on my back on the soft matrass… Fractions of a second later, Water was on top of me and kissed me roughly with his hands pinning me down… He leaned over to my ear: “Do you like what you see?”

“I couldn’t be any happier!”

Without warning, Water pinched my right nipple while his other hand caressed my cheek: “You have felt nothing yet!”

“Then show me!”

Water smirked: “Shame, you’re so tired! There are so many things I’d like to do to with you…”

His tongue licked over my ear while I tried to image what he meant with that…

“Another time”, he continued to whisper in my ear, “let’s get right to the good part!”

Skilled and steady fingers began to work on the button of my jeans… Once the button was open, the eyes of the eager demon wandered down south before looking up to me again, a dirty expression on his face…

“Something wants to get out of there, right?”, he assessed dryly.

“Then go ahead and free it!”

Water jumped off me… Now standing in front of the bed at my feet, he grabbed the last remaining pieces of clothing I was wearing… Boots and socks went flying before he pulled at the legs of my tight jeans while I tried my best to wiggle myself out of my fabric prison… Unaccustomedly impatient, Water, with the help of his sharp nails, simply ripped my pants off me…

His head moved downwards… He took my erection in his hand… With big eyes, I watched as his tongue got closer and closer… One lick over the tip of my dick was enough to made me throw my head back in ecstasy and moan loudly…

“Nice dick!”, I heard Waters melodic Swedish. His hand had left my length as quickly as it had gripped it… But the talking continued: “I think the both of us will have lots of fun!”

The lack of physical contact made me look up again… Water showed me his back and his broad shoulders… I watched as he obviously unbuttoned his own tight pants, kicked his boots in a corner and took his socks off… Seconds later, the demons’ naked ass came in sight and I couldn’t wait to dig my nails in the soft flesh…

Faster than I could react, the demon turned around and jumped back on top of me… Waters lips crushed down on mine… My heartbeat quickly increased by the rough treatment… The demon leaned over to my ear: “I wanna feel you inside of me, Papa!”

I reached out for the lube…

“We won’t need that, Papa! I’m already wet like the ocean!”

Water lifted himself up from my body… A steady hand gripped my already hardening length and placed its tip at the entrance of his, and now I could really feel it, extremely wet pussy… Without wasting any more time, the demon let himself slowly sink down… I wasn’t prepared what I felt next… And nothing could have ever prepared me!

The deeper my length got enveloped by Waters wet pussy, the more I got the feeling that he was in total control over every muscle in his body… Once I was all the way in, it felt like hundreds of small muscles massaging my dick… I had slept with a quite few women before but this was unlike everything I had ever experienced before… And the demon hadn’t even moved yet… He was tight but not too tight either… Perfect for the both of us and I began to wonder if that was a coincidence… I kinda doubted that… 

Water smirked down at me as I moaned loudly… Totally in control over the situation… His smile grew wider and wider: “How do you like my pussy?”

I wasn’t able to answer him in coherent words… Only grunts and moans came across my lips…

“That’s the exact answer I wanted to hear”, Water smiled before his first slight movements coaxed more sounds of my throat… I didn’t know what to do with my hands… I feared that touching myself would drive me over the edge too fast and… 

Water once again pinched my nipple as the speed of his movements increased… He leaned forward and took one of my hands: “I know what you’re thinking! Trust me, I have work for you! Plenty of work!”

Soon, one hand was busy with Waters small nipples while the other rubbed against his equally wet clit… The demon kissed me again: “You’re doing a great job! I’d only wish it was a bit firmer! Don’t hold back!”

I obliged and the touch of my fingers intensified… I wasn’t the only one moaning anymore… Waters mouth above me was wide-open… He rode me roughly and occasionally pinched me… My nipples were bright red and rock-hard… I felt my stomach tense… I was close…

Water had seen or felt that, too: “Come for me, Papa! Let it all loose! I wanna hear you scream! Scream!”

The muscles around my dick contracted… In fact, so much that it hurt while the rough, wild and erratic movements of the demons’ body continued… I opened my mouth to let it all out… A loud scream… My cock inside Waters magic pussy exploded as the usually so shy demon unrelentlessly took me over the edge… My body shook uncontrollably… Water soon pushed my useless hands away and began to work on himself… His movements were so fast that the hand rubbing his clit grew hazy to my eyes… And he rode on… 

My emptied dick wanted to go limp but the firm muscles inside of the horny demon didn’t let it… The contractions were simply too strong… I don’t know how Water did the things he was doing but soon, I was hard again and screaming louder than ever as the second orgasm rushed through my body… Only this time when I exploded, Water did, too… Simply indescribable the way he contracted around my length… I looked up and saw the demon throwing his head back in ecstasy as he came… The moment the orgasm took over his body, I saw gills opening up along his neck… Revealing the blue flesh behind them as I felt the first drops of Waters hot juice probably mixed with my cum running down my body… 

I was breathing heavily… My throat sore from all the screaming… Sleeping wouldn’t be a problem… Water looked down at me… He, too, was catching his breath… The gills on his neck were fluttering with every breath he took… He then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips: “Papa, that was absolutely beautiful!”

Water then carefully pulled my dick out of himself and curled himself up next to me: “If it doesn’t bother you, may I sleep here?”

With sleep-heavy eyes I looked at the demon: “Of course, you can sleep here! Remember, this room is always open to you!”

I pulled the blanket over us and closed my eyes…

Water cleared his throat next to me and his melodic Swedish filled the room: “Ehhh… Papa, before you fall asleep… I’m not sure if the others told you… But you can’t impregnate me unless…”

“You perform a specific fertility ritual before the actual sex!”, I finished the sentence, “yeah, Omega told me! That’s quite handy, right?”

“Yeah!” 

And then, everything went silent…


	37. Sneaky Bastard...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is only a short chapter... Still, I hope you'll enjoy it before it gets dark in the next chapter...

Pictures of Waters magic pussy flooded my dreams and I wasn’t surprised to wake up with an already prominent erection…

“Did the two of you have a pleasant night?”, a raspy voice spoke even before I had opened my eyes…

“That obvious?”

“Yeah!”, Omega chuckled, “just look at you! Another job for Water?”

“A job I’m only too happy to take!”, Waters melodic Swedish echoed through the room without his usual stutter, “but seriously, Omega, do you always have to sneak up on people after they had sex?”

“This is my bedroom, too, you know! I sleep here”, the tall bulky demon replied with a chuckle.

Water snorted: “I know exactly why you’re here… But you have to wait! Morning glory is something to take seriously! Papa, shall we?”

I opened my eyes. Water was still curled up next to me but looked at me with his big blue eyes… I could see a bare-chested Omega lying behind him his arms behind his head… But after I had given my ‘okay’ and Water had thrown the blanket back to reveal our naked bodies, the tall bulky demon shifted… Now eagerly observing the both of us…

Without wasting any time for a foreplay, Water simply pushed me on my back, sat himself right on top of me and let his pussy do the magic… Fucking unbelievable for someone who was usually so shy… And I had to agree with Omega that it would have been a waste to miss out on this opportunity and I asked myself why I hadn’t opened my doors earlier for him… Water quickly took me over the edge… He looked down at me, his blond hair a mess and juice leaking out of his pussy: “Has your mourning wood been treated appropriately?”

Too out of breath, I simply nodded my head… Not bad at all to wake up like this…

“Hey, Water! Since you’re finished with Papa, what about me?”, an impatient sounding Omega spoke from the side…

I finally managed to speak again: “Is this really why you’re here?”

Omega chuckled: “After I finished my song, I slept here… Just that you know, I need my beauty sleep, too…”

“Don’t believe him! He only got in here like 30 minutes ago…”, Water interrupted his brother, “trust me, it’s not the first time he’s done this… Always happens when I had my fun with Alpha! Always! Well, he would have been here sooner if it hadn’t been for the song he’s currently so obsessed with, right?”

Omega rolled his eyes: “If agreeing to that gets you quicker on top of me, yes!”

Water smiled back mischievously and rather challenging… So untypical for him… If sex brought out that side of him, we should do it more often… But he didn’t move…

“Are you coming?”, Omega asked again.

“Take off your pants!”

I had never heard anyone talk to Omega like that… But instead of a sassy retort, the tall bulky demon simply obeyed and undressed himself, revealing his hardening monstrosity…

“Good boy!”, Water chuckled, “at least you know when it’s better to shut up!”

Now, it was my turn to watch… As confident as one could be, Water climbed on top of his big brother and leaned down to kiss him…

“Dear brother, it’s simply been too long! It sure will be a pleasure for all of us!”

And then, the action started… Omegas shire size didn’t seem to bother Water… Without a problem, his wetness took the monstrosity all the way in and the ride began… Like I had done last night, one of Omegas ringed had found its way to Waters clit while the other was busy with his tiny nipples… Meanwhile on top, the tiny demon gave everything to please his brother… His hips rocketed back and forth wildly… Both demons moaned loudly… This sight turned me on so much that I was soon touching myself… And when the time came for the two demons to be taken over the edge, they weren’t alone…

“Water, I think you put on a hell of a show! Look at Papa!”, Omega chuckled while the smaller demon was busy cleaning up that big dick from all the juice and cum…

Out of breath, I replied: “You’re ruining me! It’s early in the morning, and I’m already a mess again… Let alone the sheets…”

“Don’t worry about the sheets!”, Omega laughed, “I’m going to take care of them while the two of you take a shower… Papa, to be honest you smell a bit… Though by far not as much as that stupid bird downstairs!”

I looked at Water who was just letting go of Omegas dick: “You can shower first!”

I almost had said ‘ladies first’…

But Water grabbed my hand and dragged me with him…

“You won’t regret it!”, I heard Omega yelling before Water shut the door…

And indeed, I never felt cleaner afterwards… And I was sure that whatever I had just experienced was as close as being in the middle of a hurricane as one could get… A pleasant hurricane though mixed with Waters lovely singing… And unlike Alpha, I hadn’t been frozen… Both Water and I exited the bathroom still mostly wet since there hadn’t been any towels inside… 

“I thought you might want some of these”, Omega smirked and handed us both a fresh pair, “I changed the sheets, too! See you later!”

With that, he entered the bathroom but left the door open…

Water looked at me and began to rub his hair dry: “Sneaky bastard! He surely doesn’t want to miss any of our conversation!”

“So typical for him!”, I replied while putting a fresh pair of boxers on… Since Water looked at the piece of fabric rather longingly, I handed him a pair as well…

“Thanks!”, the demon replied while jumping into the boxers, “do you, by any chance, have a comb? I need to do something against the mess on my head!”

“Sure, if you let me help to tame it!”

A few minutes later, I was sitting on the fresh sheets behind Water and was trying to, as carefully as possible, get the knots out of the demons’ hair… Luckily for me, the demon didn’t seem to mind my clumsy attempts and was rather involved in our conversation… 

The comb brushed through his blond shoulder-long hair: “Water, I really have to thank you for the night! It was absolutely wonderful! Never could I have ever imaged that you’re like this in bed… I mean you’re usually so… shy…”

Water turned around: “You know that I wasn’t always like that…”


	38. Dark Past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself... It's getting dark...

“Well, you’re talking in coherent sentences without stuttering now…”

“Yeah! Sex always gets that side of me back to light… But as soon as I’m going out of this room and am alone for a while or meet the wrong people the stutter, the nervousness and the shyness will be back… Anyway, I was referring to the time when I wasn’t like that… Did Omega tell you?”

His directness surprised me: “Ehh… Has this by any chance… ehh… anything to do with alleged witchcraft and torture of women?”

“I only told him what we agreed upon! You know what I said! You were there!”, a raspy voice echoed out of the bathroom, “you always said you wanted to tell the story yourself and I respect that! I didn’t tell him anything else!”

“Yes”, Water spoke rather pensively… So, there was more to this story… But the tone in Waters voice…

“Water!”, I said while putting a hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him, “you don’t have to tell me if…”

“But I want to tell you!”, a determined Water said while turning towards me, “I want you to understand me and why it’s so hard to talk for me most of the time… And since I can talk right now, I think I should better start… But I must warn you… What I’m about to tell you is far from pleasant…”

I swallowed and tried to prepare myself… 

“Well, what Omega told you took place a few weeks before the incident I’m going to tell you about”, Water began, the melody in his voice replaced by bitterness, “never in our dreams could we have imagined what would happen later…”

He stopped there to take a deep breath and then began to speak rather quickly: “Fuck it! Let’s just get over with it! A few weeks later, they came at night and…”

“Who came at night?”

“Maybe not that fast”, Water sighed, “you must know, back then I didn’t look like I do now… My curves and breasts gave me away… As did my speech… Everyone knew… Well, back them we were still staying in the village and called a couple of rooms in your predecessors house our home… Earth and I shared one and… And one night, they came in while we were sleeping… He, your predecessor, and five of his most trusted followers… It must have been well planned… I can’t imagine it otherwise… You know, we had to obey his commands and somehow, he made sure we had to… No way of fighting back or using our powers in defence… Ehh… Eventually they only wanted to take me but they woke Earth… And because he wasn’t supposed to call anyone for help, they took him, too, and made him watch…”

My heart sank deeper and deeper as it slowly dawned on me where this story was taking me to…

With a slight tremble in his voice Water continued: “They dragged us outside close to the woods where nobody could hear the screams… Then it began… One after another… Hour after hour… And Earth had to watch everything…”

My heart broke, tears began to form in my eyes and with a weak voice I managed to get out: “But… why?”

“What I could filter out of his talking, is that he wanted to prove to his followers that he had the absolute power over scum like us…”

“Cowardly pig!”, Omega exclaimed before I heard something scatter inside the bathroom… He sounded furious…

“How long…”

“Papa, I don’t know…”, Waters sad eyes looked at me, “I really don’t know… We’re talking about hours… In this night, they took every bit of self-esteem away from me… And my voice… They broke me…”

Water stopped there and I took him in my arms… 

After a while, I managed to clear my throat: “You’re so brave for telling me…”

“For all our sake, I had to… And I’m going to continue…”

“But before you do, I want to ensure you that I won’t, never ever in my life, let anything like this happen to you! As you Papa and more importantly as your friend, I promise!”

Water smiled at me tiredly tears running down his face but he still didn’t stutter when he continued: “I know! You’re not him and I’m deeply thankful for that! You’re a better person in every aspect… Otherwise, we wouldn’t have chosen you as our Papa… let alone I would have slept with you!”

The tiny demon sighed: “Let’s continued with the story! Well, they raped me for hours… And if it hadn’t been for Omega and his inability to sleep, everything would have lasted far longer… He found us while taking a walk in the moonlight… He saved us from more…”

“What did happen?”

“I saw what he was doing to my brothers and couldn’t believe it! Fucking lunatic!”, Omega said while he exited the bathroom his face filled with anger, “I snapped! You know that I’m usually very controlled… You know, with all the power inside me I could easily terminate entire cities hence why I always try my best to stay calm… I told you when I lost control in the church and killed all the priest when they tried to kill Earth…”

“Only too well…”, I said… These images had haunted my dreams for quite a few nights… One of the downsides of having a highly active and extremely vivid imagination…

Omega looked at his brother: “Shall I continued?”

Water wiped the tears off his face and nodded: “Yeah, would be better since I don’t remember much what happened after you arrived… I only know that I started to cry and I didn’t cry before… Those bastards…”

“I remember that…”

“I think I was never happier seeing you…”

“I can imagine”, Omega sighed, “when I saw them I couldn’t believe my eyes… I snapped and let take rage control over me… And if you think disintegrating a handful of priests was nasty… Well, in comparison to what I did when I found Water, the priests found a quick and pain-free death and my actions were pretty much under control… I knew what I was doing at every second and everything surrounding us was safe…”

I didn’t dare to interrupt him…

“This time, I wanted to hurt them and let the rage inside me guide me to some sides and powers of me I didn’t even knew existed up to this point… I turned to an impulsive entity of pure energy… When I think back, I’m surprised nothing happened to anyone but those who deserved it… Now that I know my powers and what I’m capable of if I unleash them… I could have easily destroyed the whole landscape, murder thousands of innocent people, screw with time and space… Luckily, nothing like that happened… Pray, that I’ll never lose control again…”

“But what did happen?”

“I basically let it all loose and did the most horrible thing to them that could ever happen to a living being… But they deserved it!”, Omega said with a wicked smile on his face, “I separated their souls from their bodies and send the souls off into another dimension from which they cannot return and will suffer there forever without the option to get out of their misery. It’s a horrible faith and only afterwards it dawned on me what I had actually done… No chance for salvation for all eternity… But I don’t regret it… The only two things I regret are the things that could have happened to everyone else and the fact that I couldn’t do the same to your predecessor… He deserved it for sure but the bound between him and us protected him…”

“It was frightening to watch”, Water added, “seeing Omega in this form, you know, shining in a bright light, radiating this energy and tearing open the borders between dimensions… I could feel it to the core despite the trauma… It was scary… Well, not as much as the rape but I still feared for my life… If I had died in that moment, at least I would have been avenged!”

“Luckily, you didn’t!”, Omega smiled warmly. But his smile faded and turned cold when he continued: “after I had tamed my rage again and turned back to normal, I saw him standing there staring at me and his dick still out… I broke his jaw before he could say anything and made sure that this dirty thing of his would never be of any use again… I didn’t say much… Only that I’d take my brothers and leave for somewhere safe… That none of us would ever spend a night in the village again and that it’d be his fault if some of them wouldn’t survive the winter… After that, I grabbed Water, helped him cover himself…”

“I don’t even remember that”, Water said totally emotionless…

“Yeah, you looked pretty shaken to the core! Earth too! I had to carry the both of you and before we set off, I told him that all of us would need to process this and that he should better think of a good apology! I woke Alpha and Air and then…”

“Did he apologise?”

“No! He never did! Only told us what we weren’t allowed to do in the future… Prohibited me from using my powers, talking to everyone without his supervision… Shit like that!”, Omega snorted, “but years lay between those two encounters… Meanwhile we took off to somewhere safe and decided to build this house and create a space for us to recover… I think that’s enough for now! We can tell you more about this house, Waters recovery and the further ‘relation’ with your predecessor another day! I honestly don’t want to ruin my day with this asshole any further, don’t you agree? So, what about breakfast?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the chapter wasn't too disturbing...
> 
> Next week, I'll be at Graspop... So sadly no new chapters next week...


	39. Needles And Booze...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from Belgium!!! Had a great weekend with awesome people and killer music!!!
> 
> Time to update...

Some time later, Water and I sat at the table in the kitchen while Omega was busy making pancakes. Water had borrowed some of my clothes and still looked a bit upset from telling his story…

“Hey, is there anything I can do for you today?”

Water looked up from his plate and to my surprise the stutter and shyness hadn’t returned so far: “Is that offer from last week still effective? You know, taking me out of this house unmasked?”

Last week, during one of our meetings, we had discussed the possibility of the demons to run around unmasked outside of this property and so far, we had agreed that if we’d dare it, Water was the only one for the job… But back then, the shy demon had simply remained silent…

“Of course! I stay behind my words! I told you that I’d take you out! Anything specific in mind?”

Water turned red: “Y… Yes!”

“You have to tell me, Water! I can’t read thoughts and I won’t laugh! I promise!”

Omega put a full tray of pancakes on the table in front of us and sat himself down: “Just tell him! I’m actually kind of jealous! I wish my transformation was that far developed to come along with you! Fuck the pointy nose and those cheekbones!”

Now, I was really curious…

And Water finally began: “Ehh… A few nights ago… Alpha and I watched this documentary and…”

A couple of hours later, Water and I entered a store somewhere in downtown Linköping… Well, I had planned to go out for some shopping anyway and now, Water could help me after his wish had been met…

 

“What a surprise!”, a loud voice welcomed us, “if someone had told me this morning, that you, out of all people, would be walking in this store, I’d call them crazy! Where the hell have you been, rockstar? Seriously, I haven’t seen you in ages! Where are the riches and the bitches? Are you finally here to live up to your promise?”

I smiled at the black-haired tattooed woman behind the counter: “Hi Megan! Nice to see you, too! Maybe, I am… Nah, just kiddin’! But I’m here because of my friend!”

Megan looked a bit disappointed… Well, I couldn’t blame here… The two of us reached a long way back… We had been in school together… But unlike me, she had managed to make a living out of here passion and was her own boss now… A few years ago, I had been one of her first customers and the result of her work still was on my upper left arm… Maybe I should have waited a few years with that tattoo since her skills had improved massively ever since… Up to the point, where she had even offered to cover-up for free… But I had fallen in love with that winged demon creature on my skin way too much to see it go… 

But the reason she looked so disappointed had nothing to do with that tattoo… It was rather because of a very drunk night we had spent together… I had ended staying at her place because I was too wasted to go home… Unfortunately, her apartment, much like mine, wasn’t very spacious, I found myself sharing a bed with her although I had offered to sleep on the floor… Since both of us were single, neither of us minded… We hadn’t had sex but something else had happened… Something, Megan wouldn’t forget nor let go off… 

She really wasn’t shy… Therefore, she had insisted on sleeping like she usually did: topless… Revealing something, a drunken me really liked… Her pierced nipples… Drunken me had been fascinated by the metal bars in her sensitive flesh… Well, she had bragged about how much those things improved her sex life, that drunken me had asked her to pierce my nipples, too… The next morning, I couldn’t remember… But Megan did… And wouldn’t let go if it… 

“You’re really not here because of… you know… our project?”, she smiled at me.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not!”, I smiled back, “but first and foremost I’m here because of my friend! Megan, this is Henke!”

Water smiled shyly upon hearing the new name in his passport and bravely stepped forward to shake hands…

“Nice to meet you!”, Megan smiled widely, “what can I do for you?”

A few minutes later, Water sat in the back of the store and eagerly waited for his wish to come true while listening to Megan lecturing him who to take care of his future piercing and so on… Finally, after the shy demon had given green light to the placement of the piercing on his right nostril, Megan got the needle out… Water didn’t even flinch, blink or react whatsoever when the sharp piece of metal went through his flesh…

While Water was busy inspecting himself and the nostril piercing in the mirror, Megan turned towards me: “So what about you? Are we finally going to do it?”

I remained silent…

“Doing… what?”, Water asked shyly…

I remained silent…

“Piercing his nipples!”, Megan said euphorically, “hey, are we finally going to do it? When was that night? Seven or eight years ago? Anyway, you kept me waiting way too long!”

I still remained silent…

“If he… doesn’t want to…”, Water slowly turned away from his own reflection, “I might… be interested!”

My jaw dropped… That demon…

 

“How does it feel?”, I asked eagerly while looking at the freshly inserted metal bars.

Blue eyes looked up to me: “A… Amazing!”

I raised a hand to cover my eyes not wanting to believe nor hear the next words I was about to say: “Megan, I think your wait has come to an end… I’ll do it!”

Megan smiled widely: “Is this what it takes to finally make you do it? Seeing cute Henke here getting his nipples pierced?”

I nodded my head… Watching the whole procedure had rather turned me on and set my imagination and more importantly my desire on fire… 

“Then please, remove your shirt!”

While Megan was preparing everything in the room next to us, I felt a hand on my bare shoulder: “It will… be fine! Just a… small… sting!”

“Thanks for your encouragement, Water!”

After I had okayed the placement of my soon-to-be jewellery, I sat down on the chair Water had sat on before and closed my eyes…

“You’re alright?”, Megan asked.

I opened my eyes… Megan stood right in front of me… Clamp and needle in her hand…

I exhaled slowly: “Let’s get over with it!

 

An hour or so later, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Water casually leaning over the shopping cart he was pushing behind me… My nipples hurt like hell and I just couldn’t image myself in his position… The shirt alone was putting enough pressure on my pounding flesh… And I just couldn’t believe what I had done… Then, the shopping part hit me from behind… 

“Sorry!”, Water mumbled, “are you… alright?”

“Nothing... I’m okay…”

Even in my own ears, that didn’t sound convincing…

“Hey!”, Water looked up at me, “when we… get home, I’m… helping… you… with… the pain! You know… speeding up… the… healing process!”

My mood brightened immediately… Actually, those metal bars in my nipples felt kind of nice if it hadn’t been for the pain... The piercing process itself hadn’t been that painful and the sight of the needles stuck through my nipples had been rather arousing but the moment I had put by shirt back on…

“Water, that would be great… I mean… ehh… Are you okay?”

The shy demon smiled widely: “Papa, our wounds… heal… a lot… faster… than yours! I’m… fine! I think… we… have… found... the vodka!”

I looked at the shopping list in my hand: “Are you sure that this is not a joke?”

Water shook his head…

“Seriously, 50 bottles of vodka, another 50 bottles of whiskey and 20 bottles of rum? And who the hell wants five bottles of champagne?”

“The champagne… is for Alpha”, Water answered, “and the rest… you... know… we need… a lot… to get… going…”

“Alpha has a weird taste!”, I shook my head while heaving the first box of clanking bottles in the shopping cart… I shouldn’t have done that since my sensitive nipples didn’t like lifting heavy things at all…

Water took the box out of my hands and put it in the shopping cart: “No more… lifting… for Papa!”

Once at the checkout, the cashier raised an eyebrow: “Looks like a heal of a party, right? How many people have you invited?”

“Only four!”, Water said honestly… This demon again…

The cashier looked at him with big eyes…

“He meant 400”, I intervened. The cashier let out a forced laugh and continued his work… When I saw the amount of money I was spending for all the booze I was more than happy that I didn’t have to work for all the alcohol… I could have easily paid my rent for more than a few months with this… Screw the prizes in Sweden… Drinking was an expensive hobby… 

During the whole drive home, the seatbelt rubbed uncomfortably against my chest and I was more than happy to get rid of it when I killed the engine… We left the booze in the car for Omega to levitate it later… 

“The paste… is… in… my room! Come!”, Water said and took my hand. His stutter still hadn’t fully returned and I wondered about the reasons behind this… To my surprise, we made it to his room without any disturbances... Time to see what was behind the door with the Water symbol… The interior was neat but somehow seemed a bit out of place… I had totally expected a cozy little nest… A safe shore for the shy demon… But certainly not mostly dark furniture and walls covered with disturbing and macabre drawings, posters and woodcuts showing people in either pleasure and pain… People suffering in hellfire seemed to be a reoccurring theme throughout many… A few band posters and his bass guitar seemed to be the only recent additions…

“You like Motörhead?”

“Yeah!”, Water smiled, “Lemmy… seems… like a… great guy… So manly… A… real… rockstar!”

Right when Water was applying the healing paste to my tortured nipples, the door swung open: “I thought this whole trip was about booze and Water?”

“Have you ever heard something about privacy?”, I shot back.

“Ah! Now, I’m officially jealous!”, Omega chuckled while totally ignoring my latest remark, “I can’t wait to play with them!”

“Before you touch them, they first have to heal!”

“Omega, you… can… play… with mine!”, Water smiled widely.

“No way you did that!”, Omega snorted.

Water shrugged his shoulders and continued his work… Well, the paste hadn’t been there for long but I could already feel the pain cease… And I could finally enjoy the sight of myself… Meanwhile, Water threw the paste on his bed and tugged the shirt off himself… 

Omegas jaw dropped and he stepped closer to the shy demon... His hand slowly moved up to touch the small metal bar…

“I… told… you… that I… did it!”, Water said while pushing his brothers’ fingers away, “I’ll give… you time… to… play… with them… but… not now!”

The disappointment on Omegas face was obvious: “I hope that will be soon!”

“I’m sure… we’ll… find… time… after… that… drinking… session!”

“So, you bought all the liquor?” 

“Yeah!”, Water smiled, “it’s… all… in… the… c… car… waiting… for… you!”

Omega rolled his eyes and left the room…


	40. Bottles and Books...

He had to wait several days for his wish to come true… On the next Saturday after a rather successful Swedish lesson in the morning, Water, Omega and I spent the afternoon in the studio working on some music… Mainly on a song called ‘Stand By Him’, one of my brainchilds...

It was already dark outside and both demons had already drowned their first bottle of vodka, when the door burst open…

“I did it!”, a breathless Alpha exclaimed, once again dressed in another Hawaiian shirt with a motorbike print and his shrieking parrot on the shoulder…

Omega put his guitar away and eyed his brother: “We’ve been waiting for you for hours! Tell me, Alpha, what exactly have you done?” The annoyance in his voice was more than obvious…

But Alpha didn’t seem to care about that and took his time to place a kiss on his parrots’ beak: “Sara, tell them all about daddy!”

The parrot opened its massive beak and began to shriek: “Alpha sucks!”

Over and over again…

While Water and I were laughing, Omega snorted as dryly as possible: “Truly magnificent! If that was all that kept you from drinking… Can you please make that think shut up!”

Once again, Alpha ignored his brother, grabbed his first bottle of champagne and let himself fall in an armchair with the parrot on his shoulder still shrieking and repeating that phrase over and over again…

And then, the drinking began… While I was slowly downing shot after shot, Omega and Water on either side of me were emptying bottle after bottle… Alpha meanwhile stayed with his champagne…

A few hours and many bottles later, the non-fizzy fraction of the demons seemed to be doing well despite the amount of alcohol… Water once again had removed his shirt and had snuggled up me… I was gently playing with his pierced nipples while the usually so shy demon had a hand under my shirt, too… 

I really had to say that the healing paste had speed up everything… Up to the point that after three days, it didn’t hurt anymore… I now often found myself fiddling with the jewellery… I was constantly horny… But happy with the feeling… And mentally cursed myself that I hadn’t done it earlier… It just felt sooooo good… Especially, when it was not myself but very skilled demonic hands touching you… Just yesterday, a pair of ringed fingers had had brought me over the edge in studio...

Omega and I had been playing guitars for hours… We had achieved a lot… But at one point, we just got stuck with a melody… I had gotten frustrated… Very frustrated because of the lacking progress… But I wouldn’t let it go… Still, nothing had happened… Creativity didn’t strike… That unfinished melody was making me mad… Up to the point where even Omega who was the usually more obsessed one of the two of us had grabbed my guitar and put it aside… 

The demon had come closer and had whispered in my ear that I had enough for the day… And that he had watched me this morning… That he had seen me pleasuring myself in the kitchen… The way I had played with myself… And that he, Omega, now wanted to repeat that to get my mind away from that melody… I had felt his pleasant fingers moving underneath my shirt… The first contact of his electrifying fingers and especially the cool metal rings against the metal bars… I couldn’t describe the feeling… Omega didn’t need to touch my dick to send me over the edge this time… And ever since, those hands were now frequently under my shirt… 

Speaking of ringed fingers… Omega on the other side of me lowered his bottle of vodka and let his skilled fingers wander through the feathers of the parrot on his shoulder… He began to whisper to the bird he usually so deeply despised… After Alpha had emptied the third bottle of his fizzy beverage, he had simply passed out and the bird had searched another victim… Somehow, Sara had ended up on Omegas shoulder who explained to me that for whatever reason, Alpha, unlike the rest of the demons, couldn’t tolerate alcohol very well…

Some more bottles later, Omega began to giggle and his rings began to glow: “Sara, you will make daddy very angry… Go on! Say it!”

After a longer period of silence, the shrieks of the bird echoed loudly through the studio: “Alpha sucks! Omega doesn’t!”

Over and over again, while Omega couldn’t stop laughing and was about to down the remaining liquid in his bottle… But Water reached over me and took the bottle away: “I think… you had… enough…”

Omega looked at him pleadingly…

“No!”, a determined Water said, “you… already jinxed… the bird… I don’t… want… to see… what’s… next! Omega, you… need to… go… to bed…”

“No!”

“I’ll… let you… play… with… my nipples… Like… I promised!”

“Okay!”, Omega said and tried to stand up…

What a quick change of mind…

Eventually, Water and I had to pull the tall bulky demon to his feet and send him ahead… While Water lifted the passed-out Alpha on his shoulder, I followed Omega who was walking better swaying uncertainly and occasionally seeking support from nearby walls, pillars or banisters…

It felt like proper salvation when my tired and drunk body hit the matrass and the last thing I remember where some ringed hands reaching out for pierced nipples… And a shrieking bird…

The morning after, I awoke with a slight headache… Once again, the heavily snoring Alpha had brought me out of me dreams… Maybe I should indeed invest some money in a good pair of earmuffs… I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by an ensemble of sleeping demons… The source of the snoring lay at the end of the spacious bed, all limbs stretched away from his body, and occupied as much space alone as the remaining three of us combined… I turned away from the snoring mess only to find Water curled up next to me… A peaceful expression on his face… 

The only thing I could see of Omega so far was his massive ringed hand reaching over the shy demon… His fingers were still playing with one of his brothers pierced nipples… When I sat up, I saw that the tall bulky demon who was lying on his belly, to my absolute surprise, was still asleep… So untypical for him… But after all those bottles of liquor he had emptied last night… After about 25, I had lost track… The sleeping parrot sat on one of his long legs…

As quite as I could, I climbed out of the bed, picked a few clothes of the ground and left the room to appease my hunger… After I had found some leftovers, played with my nipples and treated my morning erection appropriately, I began to wander through the mansion… Without a proper direction in mind… Somehow I ended up in the part of the mansion I was the least familiar with… The ground level… Since the living quarters of the demons were on the upper levels, I had never spent much time there… I walked through the massive conference room, the big dining hall and suddenly stood in front of a massive door… 

The library… Ever since Alpha and Omega had shown me the mansion during my first day here, I had never set a further step in there… I knew that Air and his precious books didn’t want to be disturbed… But I was too curious about the things he was doing in there to stay out… And there wasn’t anything else to do right now… 

I pushed the massive door open… But only so far that I could slip in since I was very well aware that the door would squeak loudly if opened too far… Seconds later, I found myself surrounded by high shelves filled with thousands and thousands of books… As far as the eye could see… I guessed that back in the day this must have been one of the biggest libraries in Scandinavia… I looked around on the search for a familiar large black figure… But nothing moved…

I passed row after row of shelves… I didn’t understand the system in which they were organized… Probably thematic… But so far, I had found everything from gardening guides to obscure torture instructions and way too many chronicles and religious texts… And lots of texts in languages and scribes that I couldn’t decipher… When I set foot into another thematic section of the library, everything about the city of Linköping, I finally found Air…

The tall demon was sitting at a table that was covered with massive piles of books… His head rested on an opened book… Obviously asleep… The books somehow seemed oddly familiar to me like I had seen them before… I stepped closer… Trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake the demon… I grabbed one of the large heavy books… It contained nothing but death records between 1937 and 1938… As did all the other books with only the years differentiating… It dawned on me where I had seen these books before… In the basement of the town hall of Linköping when the major had led us to the vaults… And I began to wonder why Air would be interested in these records and how the hell these books had found their way into the mansion… I continued to scan the pages…

Suddenly, I felt the grip of a strong hand around my wrist… The book slipped out of my fingers and fell… But Air caught it and fixated me with his dark eyes… I wanted to apologize but before I could even open my mouth, a deep rather threatening voice echoed through my head: “Why are you here?”


	41. Missing...

The hair on my arms stood on end while my knees began to shake… So Air could actually talk… Maybe he just didn’t like to use his vocal cords… Since I knew how to communicate non-verbally from some of my previous conversations with Omega, I tried to reply without thinking to intensely: “I was just wandering…”

“And you thought it was a good idea to sneak up on me while I was sleeping…”

I winced under his firm grip: “No… I was wondering what you were doing in here… But I somehow never thought that you would be asleep… Really!”

His fingers let go of my wrist and he was about to put the book back on the huge pile… I thought I heard a chuckle in my head: “Even I have to sleep!”

“You won’t kill me then?”

“No!”, Airs voice now sounded a lot kinder, “though curiosity might kill you one day!”

“That’s what Omega keeps telling me, too!”

“Did he introduce you to non-verbal communication?”

I nodded my head…

“I knew it”, Air continued, “usually, when somebody tries it the first time, they think to intensively thus making it feel like somebody’s screaming at the top of their voices… Thanks for not doing that! I hate it when that happens!”

He was still holding the book in his hand and curiosity got the better of me: “Ehhh… Air… What exactly are you doing with these? Weren’t they in the town hall of Linköping? Are you searching for someone?”

Air looked at me for a very long time… So long in fact, that I felt like being x-rayed by his dark eyes…

“If you… want… me to… leave… I… can go”, I stuttered, “or… I could… help… you!”

He remained frozen like a statue and I was about to turn around and leave, when he pushed another chair in my direction: “Sit!”

I slowly let myself fall on the chair and waited for him to elaborate…

I waited quite some time before he enlightened me: “You could indeed help me…”

He went quiet after that and turned back to the book he had slept upon… Flipping page after page…

“Air, could you please tell me what you are looking for?”

His long fingers froze: “Linton Rubino!”

“What?”

“Linton Rubino!”

Air didn’t seem to be in the mood to elaborate more, so I grabbed the closest book, years 1965-1966, and began to flip through the pages… I made slow progress since the handwriting in there was hard to decipher…

An hour or so later, my eyes were burning and I hadn’t even finished with half of the first book… I began to question my work…

“Hey, Air!”, I thought, “would you mind explaining to me, why you are searching for this guy?”

I had to wait for the answer…

“To see if he’s dead or still alive…”

“But… why?”

Air looked up from his work… The page in his hand was shaking… He turned to face me: “Because… he is my son!”

My jaw dropped: “Your son?”

The demon nodded his head…

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier… I could have helped you… And speaking of help… Wouldn’t Omega be…”

“Omega already did everything he could...”, Air interrupted me while he buried his masked face in his hands, “he searched the entire internet more than once… Nothing… No track of him… No trace…”

“Then why are you searching in these books?”

“They haven’t been digitalized… If he died… I should find it here… Omega got them from the major…”

I stood up and put my arms around the tall demon trying to comfort him… A thousand different thoughts flooded my mind… I could hear the demon sniffle… He was obviously crying…

“Air, is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m okay…”, the demon replied…

“Really?”

“Yes…”

He didn’t sound convincing…

“We can always talk about it if you trust me…”

“I trust you… And I might need to do that… You know… talk…”

“Let’s talk!”

“But please, sit”, the demon said while freeing himself from my arms, “I need some breathing space...”

Maybe he didn’t like personal contact… But moments later, I realized that he was talking about something else as he ripped the masquerade off himself and I saw his face for the first time… He looked like I had always imagined a proper demon would look like… Dark skin, sharp facial features, slightly tilted eyes, a pointy nose, equally pointed ears, some scars and an impressive pair of greyish black horns… While Air was freeing his massive hair, which appeared to consist of rather wild dreadlocks, from the balaclava, I spotted that his eyes were swollen redly from all the tears running down his face… I cramped my pockets and handed him a handkerchief… 

“Thank you!”, echoed through my head as he accepted the small piece of fabric…

“Please, tell me something about Linton! Well, if you feel like it…”

Air lowered the handkerchief and took a deep breath… Motionless like a statue, he stared at me during the entire story: “Well, where shall I start… At the beginning would be the best… He was born in the winter of 1782… Long after that incident with Water and after we had returned to the village… A cold year… The winter before was even colder… So long and cold, that most stocks were running low and many got sick… She lived a bit out of town all alone and had caught a terrible cold which turned into a pneumonia… Deathly ill, she came into town… The moment I lay an eye upon her, I knew I had to help her… I left the other sick people in Omegas care and took care of her… She survived… Yeah… And we fell in love and slept with each other…”

“Did you stay with her?”

“No! We were forbidden to be close to humans… And since we were only intimate once, we decided to better part ways… Since she stayed and lived out of town, I didn’t see her… Well, not until she knocked against our door almost nine months later… Heavily pregnant and sick again… She hadn’t dared to seek out for help since she knew whose child she was carrying until there was no other option… All those months, she had hidden herself… We took her in… There wasn’t much, even for us, to do for her but to save the child… She told us the name of the child… She always wanted him to have a human name… And then she thanked us for being so kind to her and closed her eyes… It was obvious that it was my child… We raised him…”

“Wait… Can you please explain to me what exactly he is?”

“Of course… He is a hybrid… Half human… Half demon… But bears more demonic than human treats… He can’t die unless they found and killed him… For a hybrid, Linton is very powerful… Maybe because he grew up with us… Could flood entire cities if he wanted…”

“Flood? I though he is your son? Elemental wise…”

“Inheriting elements doesn’t work with us… He could have gotten every element… He got water… Furthermore, he could have always chosen to become a full demon… But for that he needed a Papa to bind himself to and with your predecessor that didn’t seem to be a good idea…”

“Certainly not after all I heard… How did he react when he found out about Linton?”

“He wanted us to kill him…”

“You’re kidding me?”

“Nope!”, Air sighed, “we hid Linton for the first five to six years… But one day, your predecessor had to come over to contact hell… It was the day, the house, well the powers in the house, decided to resent him… After we had contacted hell, we saw Linton gliding through the hall on some ice he had created with his powers… He wanted to know how that happened… We refused to tell him and only told him that we would take care of him and it wasn’t his business… He exploded and told us to kill Linton since scum like that didn’t belong on the earth’s surface… His words… That’s when Omega, too, exploded and threatened to cut every bit of his remaining genitals off if he should ever lay a hand on my son… To underline that, the house kicked him out and never allowed him to get back in…The gates remained sealed for him…”

“Bastard!”

“Indeed! The connection between him and us further cooled down after that…”

“Than what happened to Linton on that day 160 years ago?”

“Most of what I’m telling you now are theories… We first have to talk to our contact person in hell to verify everything… Well, over the years we felt our connection with your predecessor fading… To the point where we could openly fight and later disobey his commands… And thus, Linton pushed the idea of getting a new Papa… But for getting a new one, he had to resign on his own… Something he’d never do… Give up the source of his powers and his extended life span… 

But there was something else… Something I had read about while still in hell… It was mostly theoretical… But if the connection between a Papa and his ghouls is severely weakened, in our case because we couldn’t get along with his ruthless behaviour towards us, the spiritual connection gets reduced to the absolute minimum… Meaning in the case of his death, our souls wouldn’t leave earth with him but stay here bound to his body until we found a new Papa… Usually, the demons die with their Papa… The fact that we’re still here proves that we were right…”

“So he had to die…”

“Yep… We waited and prepared since we couldn’t do it ourselves and didn’t want Linton to do it… Luckily, those Christians are or at least were very eager demon hunters… There was only one problem… The party that kills Papa gains a certain level of control over his left behind demons until they find a new one… We weren’t sure how our encounter with them would end especially concerning Linton since he isn’t a full demon… Hence, why we prepared for the worst… Everything was ready when…

Well, when we felt, that your predecessor had been killed, we knew that we had had been at least partially right… But those who killed him weren’t dumb either… They knew what they were doing and we felt them calling us… We resisted the call as long as possible, sealed the property and handed Linton the keys and documents to take them to the major of Linköping… Afterwards he would go into hiding and try to make it on his own until we were back… We didn’t know if we would make it ourselves… Truth be told, we barely survived it thanks to Omega…If we would survive, they’d probably confine us to his body which they did… And if Linton would have been there, he would have died for sure and now, we are looking for him…”

“Didn’t you tell him about the maps?”

“No! Even if he would have, he couldn’t have helped us… It’s ancient magic… Only a true finder could have found and freed us… Like you… He could have never freed us…”

“I bet it was hard to send him off on his own!”

“Of course! But he chose it himself and it was the only possibility for him to survive…”

“And really no trace of Linton?”

“We know that he survived the first few decades… According to some data by the Vatican, he was last seen shortly before World War I started… That’s why I limited my search to the death records afterwards… He promised to stay in the area as much as possible… I should continue my search… I’ve already finished with most of them”, Air said while pointing on some of the larger piles of books…

“And I’m helping you!”, I said stubbornly while reopening my book…


	42. The Puppetmaster...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suggest you to re-read the first chapter for some valuable connections...

Quite some time later, I was scanning through the second book… Summer of 1982… Somehow the span of these books was getting shorter the further the years progressed showing the growth of the city… My eyes followed my index finger as it slid down the long list of names…

Suddenly, a thought struck my mind and I thought out loud: “Air, when did you say Linton was born?”

A few seconds later, Airs words echoed through my head: “In winter…”

“No, not the season… The year!”

“1782… Why? You certainly won’t find birth docume…”

“I’m an idiot!”, I said while slapping myself, “why didn’t I think of this earlier!”

“What?”, Air sounded helplessly…

I got the phone out of my pocket and began to browse the internet… Air watched every movement of my fingers on the screen… It took a while to find the website… But after a few minutes of search, I found myself on a familiar site I had visited before…

“Air, does the name ‘Puppetmaster1782’ sound familiar to you?”

“Except for the numerals, no…”

I showed him the page where people shared their photographs and impressions of lost and deserted places… And the deleted account I had come across months ago of the guy rambling about this haunted place in the woods he had tried to find… Stating he had grown up in the area and so on… 

Airs eyes widened while he read everything… Soon filling with tears… He looked at me, pulled me in a tight embrace and spoke to me for real for the first time ever since he had to apologize to me back in the woods: “Thank you!”

I padded his back: “Well I don’t know if we can trace that account since it’s been deleted…”

Air looked at me: “Let’s find out! If there is someone who can trace this account, it’s Omega!”

“Well, he had a few too many last night…”

Air smiled: “Unlike Alpha, Omega can handle himself… A bit of liquor won’t knock him out!”

I was about to protest that more than 25 bottles of hard stuff were a bit more than three or four bottles of champagne, when Air already continued: “He’s awake and on his way… He’ll be here soon!”

And indeed moments later, a slightly hungover, bare-chested Omega popped up next to me: “Air… out of all our brothers… Why did you wake me?”

“We are on to something! It’s about Linton! Papa, show him!”

Omega raised his scar-streaked eyebrow: “Since when does Papa know about Linton?”

I looked at the tall bulky demon and handed him my phone: “Since I decided to wander the mansion because I couldn’t sleep thanks to a snoring champagne-loving demon and ended up here scaring Air…”

Omegas eyes scanned the screen of my phone: “How did you find that?”

I told him… 

After I had finished, Air cut in: “Can you trace this account?”

Omega began to rummage his pockets: “I’ll give my best… That’s the best trace we’ve got so far… You know, with the year and what has been posted… Does the name ‘Puppetmaster’ sound familiar to any of you?”

A few minutes on the phone later, we knew more… According to Google, ‘Puppetmaster’ was the artist’s name of an anonymous underground DJ who was rumoured to live in Stockholm… But Omega deemed this too vague and insisted on tracking the account properly and began his work…

Air and I couldn’t do more than to watch…

After a while, I cleared my throat and asked: “Tell me, how did you raise him? How does he look? What is he like?”

Seemingly happy to have something to do, Air answered: “He looks normal… Like a human being… No demonic treats…”

“He didn’t inherit those horns?”

“Certainly not!”, Omega chuckled, “and neither did he inherit the tail!”

“Tail?”

“Show him, Air!”, Omega said without looking up from his laptop, “you always complain how uncomfortable it is to hide that thing!”

Fractions of a second later, Air was wearing human clothes… A pair of dark jeans, a black shirt and something that looked like a lumberjack jacket… And a long black tail with a forked end was waving behind of him…

“Before you even ask”, Omega brought me out of my stare, “I don’t have one and neither do the others… Same goes for the horns… Air is a lot older than the rest of us and over the years, the traits of us demons changed a bit towards more humanoid forms!”

I shook my head violently to stop staring at the waving tail: “Tell me about Linton!”

“Well, we raised him… like he was one of us…”, Air began while scratching his head but obviously didn’t know what to say…

Without taking his eyes off his work, Omega stepped in: “Linton is a bit ‘special’… I suggest, you paint your own picture once you meet him…”

“What do you mean with ‘special’?”

“He’s a nice guy but he might have spent too much time with the wrong people…”

“Alpha?”

“Well combined!”, Omega chuckled, “they were basically inseparable…”

“Did the argument between the two of you”, I asked Omega, “have anything to do with leaving behind Linton?”

Omega raised his scar-streaked eyebrow: “Again well combined…”

“Well, I hope Linton didn’t pick up all the quirks and issues your brother has…”

“No, fortunately not… With ‘special’ I was more referring to behaviour concerning any form of authority, his scepticism and distrust in humans… and his sex life… Water would always refer to him as pure savage…”

Air cleared his throat: “Enough of that… He can be nice if he trusts you… Omega, did you ever tell Papa about our theory why Alpha is so… weird?”

Omega shook his head: “Nope… We haven’t talked about that yet… But since tracing this ‘Puppetmaster1782’ takes longer than I thought, why don’t you enlighten him? Anyway, you know more about all this demonic stuff than I do… But please, leave out the gossip…”

Without bothering about the last part of his brother’s speech, Air looked at me: “Interested in a small history lesson on demons?”

“Sure!”

“I promise we’ll somehow end with Alpha…”, Air began, “well, I’m only telling you about the elemental demons… Everything else would be too complicated… So no incubi and succubae and all the other kinds… I was crated thousands of years before any of my brothers… In a time, that’s commonly referred to as sixth era… Don’t ask me why… Our kind of demons is usually created with the help of a higher being… You’ll meet her soon… She’s the one we refer to as judge since we can’t tell you her name before you’ve met her… She helped to create us, raised us and supervised us when we were called to earth…”

“But how?”

“Can’t tell you much… The process usually involves quite a bit of black magic, sulphur as the substance from which we’re made of, the source of our element and a soul that is merged with the sulphur… I don’t know more about the process and we’re not supposed to know more… Maybe you’ve realized that there is a ranking within the elements…”

“With earth being the lowest and quintessence being the highest?”

“Yep, it’s earth, water, air, fire and lastly quintessence… The ranking is also representative for the quantity of every kind of elemental demon… In fact there are many earth and water demons down below and even, well, not many, but some air and fire ones… With quintessence, it’s a different story…”

I looked at Omega…

Air continued: “Quintessence is a very… obstinate substance… Very hard to bind… And if it works, a very instable creation… During my lifespan, there have been maybe four or five successful creations… And even then, it takes a very strong and determined soul to control the element… I mean, three of them imploded only hours after their creation, killing thousands of demons and their creators with them… The other one didn’t live long either…”

“I thought you wanted to tell me about Alpha…”

“He has to do with the story!”, Air twinkled, “Omega was created in the transition period between the twelfth and thirteenth era… His birth was deemed as a wonder on many levels… The first ever stable quintessence demon in the newer ears….”

“It’s not that big of a deal!”, Omega threw in.

Air laughed: “Papa, don’t believe him! It was a big deal in hell! Made himself and his creator famous instantly! The Devil himself came to see him! Can you believe it? The judge told us, that it was a shock for many that especially our group of demons got called to earth…”

“Oh, cut it short, Air! Leave the gossip out and tell him the important part!”, Omega interrupted him.

Air rolled his eyes: “I’m in talking mode like once and you’re telling me to shut up!”

“Somehow I liked you better when you weren’t talking instead of gossiping! I thought that’s Alphas job or even Waters when he’s not too shy to open his mouth and…”

My hand slammed on the table: “Can we go on with the story?”

The speed of Omegas fingers on the keyboard of his laptop increased while Air cleared his throat: “What was really special about this creation was the fact that not only Omega was born but a twin as well… Alpha… Twins are very unusual in hell and that both survived and were of such highly ranked elements even more so… I wasn’t present but the judge told me that there was no indication for twins… Either a second soul and a second element entered shortly before everything happened, the one soul split because of two involved elements or something that can’t be explained… Yet no matter what happened, both demons lived and everyone in hell knows Alpha and Omega… The judge believes that because of these unusual circumstances, Alpha might be lacking some of the typical demonic traits… Hence all his quirks and issues…”

“But Omega has his quirks, too!”

“Yeah, but his are to compensate the incredible powers within him… Basically to tame his inner demons! Right, Omega?”

“Mhhh”, the tall bulky demon mumbled without looking from his laptop, “yeah, my inner demons… The judge always referred to me as her ‘Demon King’…”

“But somehow”, Air continued, “Alphas quirks and issues increased over the years while Omegas has his under control…”

“What about Earth and Water?”

“Oh, they were born a lot later… Earth only a few hundred years before we were called by your predecessor… In our time standard, he is still a child… But he completed our group… One of the many groups our judge supervises… But her favourite and she was very sad to see us…”

“Shut up, Air! You know exactly how much I hate all that gossip!”, Omega exclaimed.

“I’m not finished yet… You only hate gossip about yourself!”, Air shot back, “when it comes to others…”

“Shut up, Air!”, Omega again interrupted him, “I think I tracked ‘Puppetmaster1782’ down!”


	43. On The Run...

“Where is he?”, I asked.

“The laptop is in Stockholm!”, Omega answered, “I’m not sure if it’s Linton since there is no personal data on the laptop and the only other electronic device around is a prepaid phone…”

“Let’s go there!”, a determined Air said while standing up…

“You, my friend”, Omega addressed him, “are going nowhere unless you put that tail away and get your mask back on!”

“But it’s Linton!”

“We don’t know that! And there might be other people around! And I’m shirtless!”

A few minutes later, both demons were dressed…

“Where exactly in Stockholm did you locate the laptop?”, I asked Omega one he had put the black mask in place…

“Husby!”

Why did it always have to be Husby out of all places? Still, I grabbed Omegas arm and seconds later, I found myself on the top floor of a building in a rather questionable condition… The smell of urine mixed with a alcohol was stinging my nose and everything looked very neglected, demolished and forgotten… Basically a dump which didn’t surprise me at all… I began to inspect the nametags on the doors… Mostly foreign names…

“Papa, no need for this”, Omega stopped me and pointed towards a door with flacking paint, “it’s this one!”

“How do you know?”

“The laptop is in there and the entire apartment behind is shielded with a lot of magical wards… To the point that I can’t contact him mentally… And neither can Air… It’s too obvious… At least for us… This has to be Linton! Seems like you found the right clue, Papa.”

Then, Omega stepped forward and nocked against the door… A few levels lower, I heard children screaming in different languages while glass smashed in another apartment… Hopefully, no one would come out of their apartments…

Omega knocked again since no one had answered: “Linton, it’s us! Open the door!”

Suddenly, I heard hectic steps in there: “Piss off! You can’t fool me!”

“Linton, it’s really us! Your father and me, Omega!”

The steps stopped: “Proof it!”

Omega shrugged his shoulders and began to speak in the demonic tongue… The steps came closer to the door and I heard a hissed reply in the demonic language which made Air snicker…

Omega turned around: “It’s him and he will open the door!”

That was quick!

“What did you say to convince him?”

Omega laughed: “That Alpha can’t wait to be his again! Anyway, he wants us to enter as quickly as possible!”

“Are you ready?”, I heard a voice from the inside.

Omega signalized Air and me to step closer: “Yes!”

Fractions of a second later, I heard the key turn… The door opened quickly… Very quickly… Well, and I got dragged in even quicker… I guessed that I would have stayed outside concerning the speed of everything if Air hadn’t grabbed my arm… So I found myself inside a tiny, very sparsely furnished apartment that definitively had seen much better days… I heard the door lock again…

“You’re really back?”, Linton spoke while leaning against the door… I couldn’t actually see him since both Omega and Air blocked my view.

“Jep!”, Omega replied.

“Since when?”

“Alpha and I about six weeks. The others, half of that!”

“But how?”

“Because of this guy”, Omega grabbed my arm and pulled me forwards, “found us and freed us! Linton, meet our new Papa!”

I could now see him... Linton was about Alphas size if I guessed correctly and really looked human. No demonic treats… Yet somehow there was this resemblance with Air… I guessed if Air should ever decide to change his appearance towards a more humanoid form, he and Linton would kind of look alike... Although Linton’s eyes were of a dark blue… He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties and wore plain clothes… Something that wouldn’t make him stand out in any sort of crowd… But the few scars in his face would always attract attention despite the longer thick black messy hair he tried to cover them with… He looked rough… Lean yet muscular… Someone who knew how to fight… And eyed me with what could only be described as suspicion… A very high level of suspicion…

Since I was quite sure that Linton wasn’t the kind of person to make the first step, I did it and offered him my hand: “Hi, Linton! Nice to meet you! I’m the new Pap…”

Upon hearing THAT unfinished last word, something inside of my opposite snapped… I saw it in his eyes… Fast as a shark, he stepped forward and fractions of a seconds later, my feet left the ground as a strong hand grabbed my throat and lifted me up… My hands reached for Linton’s wrists trying to free myself from his vicious grip while I desperately gasped for air… But I couldn’t do much than stare into his wild eyes… His face distorted with rage… He breathed heavily… The gills at the sides of his throat, much like Waters, flattering with every draught…

“Please… Linton”, I managed to get out, beginning to feel the lack of oxygen…

Linton’s dark eyes sparkled with rage and anger: “I’m fucking killin’ you if you should ever harm any of the ghouls! You better be no asshole! I’m not going to repeat myself!  
Understood?”

But there wasn’t enough oxygen in my suffering lungs…

“Understood?”, he yelled louder…

“Linton, stop!”, Omega stepped in, “stop!”

Stars appeared… The hand around my throat remained closed…

“Stop it, Linton!”, Omega yelled once again to no affect…

The stars in front of me suddenly began to turn purple and the fingers finally loosened their grip making me fall on the ground…

“What was that for?”, Linton sounded rather displeased… I looked up from the ground and saw him shaking his hands violently… Like he had burned himself or gotten an electro shock…

“Well, you didn’t stop”, Omega shrugged his massive shoulders, “where are your manners, Linton? Strangulating someone straight away? Instead of giving him a chance? Let me assure you, Linton, this Papa is nothing like that asshole!”

“We’ll see!”, Linton spat out between gritted teeth…

“Don’t be an asshole yourself! All five of us trust him! None of us would be here if that wasn’t the case! To further demonstrate our trust in him, all of us have agreed to introduce him to the judge and furthermore trying to make him one of us!”

“What?”, Linton spat out, “dad, is he telling the truth?”

Air only nodded his head… 

“You heard me!”, Omega replied, “we trust him! Well, how’ve you been doing? I see you found yourself a nice and cozy home!”

I looked around… The place was as far away from nice and cozy as possible… The apartment was even smaller than my previous hellhole… The wallpapers were falling from the walls… A window was cracked and ‘repaired’ with some cardboard… Most wobbly shelves were empty… The broken fridge wasn’t even plugged in… The only personal possessions besides the packed bag on the bed I could spot were a laptop and a black leather mask covered with silver spikes lying next to it…

Linton said exactly what I was thinking: “Nice and cozy! Seriously?”

Omega shrugged his shoulders: “Better than being locked in a dark forest!”

“No fucking way!”, Linton snorted.

“Well, we could always argue about that!”, Omega smirked.

“But not here!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust these people! Somebody might have seen you and they might have alarmed somebody! We need to get out of…”

“Man, you sound paranoid even for my standards!”, Omega interrupted him.

Linton shot back: “Well, unlike you, I haven’t spent the last 160 years in a nice and cozy church! I’ve been on the run! Constantly!”

“When have they found you the last time?”

“Eight years ago! Still, I’d prefer to tell you somewhere safe!”

“Okay, okay!”, Omega gave in, “do you need to pack before we leave for St. Lucifer?”

“You got the mansion back?”

“Yep!”, Omega chuckled, “the major and I are best friends now!”

“Do you think there might be a way for me to get papers?”

“You don’t have any papers?”, I asked in surprise entering the conversation.

“Of course not!”, Linton snorted, “how do you think that should work out, smartass? Someone like me can’t just walk into any town hall and ask for papers! I mean, I don’t even have a birth certificate… And explaining the entire ‘I’m only over 200 years old story’ is a bit complicated!”

“Then how do you rent places like this?”

“I didn’t for a long time… Only in the last few decades… It’s expensive and only works in charming neighbourhoods like this with very greedy and rather shady landlords. I pay him weekly in advance… Solid cash of course… And if the payments should stop for whatever reason, he knows I’m out of this place… Should they ever find me, I can always pull off a fast exit! Exactly what I will do now!”

“So, do you need to pack?”, Omega repeated.

“Nope! Everything I own and plan to take with me, is on the bed!”

“That’s not much!”, Omega commented.

“The more you own, the more it will slow you down! Enough of the explanation!”, Linton said vigorously while grabbing his few possessions, “I’ll tell you more once we are at the mansion over something to eat! I’m starving!”

He stepped forward, grabbed the arm of his father, who up to this point had followed the conversation without uttering a single word, and they were gone… What a weird father-son relationship… Fractions of a second later, Omega and I followed and I found myself in the kitchen of St. Lucifer…

Air had caught his son in a tight embrace: “I’m so glad to have you back! I assumed the worst…”

“Calm down, dad”, said Linton while padding his fathers’ back, “I always said I’d make it and I did!”

Omega and I looked at each other rather awkwardly… The both of us feeling like being at the wrong place… After a while, the tall bulky demon shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat: “I’m making breakfast!”

“Good idea!”, I agreed.

“Yeah! Sounds good!”, Linton spoke, “dad, I think you can let go of me! I won’t disappear any time soon!”

While Linton and Air sat down at the table, Omega and I got busy… While preparing some batter for waffles, Omega ripped the mask off…

Linton broke the silence: “Have you really shown him your faces!”

Omega turned around: “Yeah, why not!”

Linton’s eyes grew wide: “You managed to transform! Well, not exactly human yet but all these years seemed to have paid off!”

Omega smiled: “Just wait ‘til you see the oth…”

“But what happened to your face?”, Linton interrupted him while staring at the scars in Omegas face…

“Alpha missed you a bit too much!”

“He really did do that?”

“Yep! But we got everything sorted out!”, Omega assured him obviously trying to make no big deal of it, “how did you do during all those years?”

“Just one question before I start”, Linton spoke eagerly, “if I had come with you, would I’ve made it?”

Omega shook his head and added quietly: “No!”

“I knew it was the right decision to leave you! These Christians are a pain in the ass! To tell you a short version of my 160 years”, Linton began, “I’m cutting it short! I don’t want to ruin my first day with my family… Well, the years until the first World War broke out were quite rough… I was constantly on the run and they knew what they were doing… Caught me several times, tortured me and tried to kill me… But somehow, I always managed to escape at the last second… Shame that I can’t teleport like you guys… I always envied you for that…”

“Linton can’t do it very often”, Omega explained for me, “always has to wait for some time ‘til his energy is restored!”

“Yeah!”, Linton continued, “I always saved that when there was no other option left… Saved me quite a few times! But once the first World War had begun, things slowed down… I guessed most of the skilled demon hunters got killed and the rest had other problems than hunting creatures like me… Once the wars were over, the Vatican got under crossfire because people began to question their practises… after a little high in the 60s, they mostly left me alone and most of the demon hunters I’ve come across since then, were incompetent fools… As far as I know, the Vatican only employs a handful of them anymore…”

“How do you know?”, Omega asked.

“I’ve broken into their archives numerous times in the hope to find something about you…”

“That sounds rather reckless endangering yourself like that!”

“Calm down, Omega!”, Linton smiled while pilling the first waffles on his plate, “they’re not what they once were! I wouldn’t have dared this back in the day… But now… Things have changed… It’s only a big bastion of old disillusioned fools… Speaking of foolish behaviour… Let me tell you about my last encounter with a demon hunter…”

He paused to took a big bite of his waffle…

While still chewing, he managed to get out: “Mhhh… These are delicious! But not as good as Alphas! Where is he?”

“Still passed out after a few bottles of champagne! You’ll see him soon enough! What about that demon hunter?”

“Right!”, Linton said while taking another bite, “I was on vacation in Australia… Don’t ask what I was doing there… I just wanted to swim a bit where no one would bother me and Australia with its endless shorelines is perfect for that… Well, I had just arrived there and was recovering from the teleporting thus reading a book under the hot sun, when I heard someone approaching me and the sound of a loading gun… I don’t know how this guy found me… I could only have been a few hours at the beach… But no matter how he found me, he stood over me and told me that in the name of his fucking holy church, he would rightfully exterminate me. I only shrugged my shoulders and turned back to my reading while he repeated his words… Eventually, he pulled the trigger… With closed eyes… He was very surprised when I tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the projectile telling him that he had lost something… He didn’t have the balls to fire once more and I offered to forget everything and let him go…”

“You really offered that? You out of all people?”

“Yeah!”, Linton said defensively, “he was an idiot and I wasn’t in the mood to start my vacation with a kill… But he cuffed himself to me and insisted on brining me to the next bishop… I told him that I didn’t want to and lay down again after I had thrown that puny weapon of his in the ocean… It’s kind of handy to be faster than your opponents’ weapons if you ask me… After a while, I offered to let him go again… Still no positive reaction and I became tired of his behaviour since he kept pulling the handcuff… So we went swimming and he might have drown… Shame he couldn’t breathe under water…”

I smiled over my waffle… As did Omega… And even Air eased up a bit…

Then I heard steps…


	44. Scars...

“It smells wonderful in here! Why did nobody care to wake me…”, a shirtless Water suddenly froze and stared at Linton while his jaw dropped…

“Who is that?”, Linton asked.

“Water!”, Omega said quickly…

“Really!?!”, Linton said while jumping up, thus knocking the chair over, and stormed towards the shy demon, “good to see you, Water!”

Water seemed to be too taken by the unexpected guest in the kitchen to react. Linton meanwhile used this to throw his arms around the shy demons and caught him in a fierce embrace….

Suddenly, the usually so shy demon pushed Linton back: “Get your fingers off me!”

Omega sighed: “What did he do this time?”

Water looked rather displeased: “Already playing with my nipples… No manners whatsoever! Omega, why is this savage here?”

After Linton had promised to leave Water alone and both had sat down at opposite sides of the table, Omega and I illuminated Water over everything he had missed… 

After we had finished, Water cleared his throat: “Well, if he stays here, no touching! Savage, understood?”

“Yeah…”, Linton mumbled.

“You can play with Alpha but not with me! Remember what happened last time!”

Linton rolled his eyes: “How could I forget!”

Then, everything turned silent and everyone focused on their plates…

“Omega!”, I pushed my mind forward trying to start a non-verbal conversation, “can you hear me?”

“Yep! He can hear you and so can I!”, I heard Airs deep voice echoing through my mind….

“You surely want to know what happened between the two of them, right?”, Omega asked while his lips remained motionless and his attention glued on the plate in front of him.  
Trying to act less suspiciously, I, too, turned back to my plate: “Yeah… I wanted to ask that… I hope that has nothing to do with… you know… the rape…”

Omega chuckled mentally: “Nope! Fortunately not! It’s actually rather amusing… Well, after a lot of arguing and persuasion, Water agreed to give Linton a try… But Linton tends to be a bit… rough… You’ll soon find out when Alpha will be covered in bruises…”

“Can demons get… bruises?”

“Of course! If you apply enough force! And Linton certainly does… So I suggest you don’t agree into anything as long as you are human… He would only crush…”

“I have absolutely no intention….”

“It’s just a bit of advice rather than a real warning…”, Omega chuckled, “well, outcome of this entire story: Water couldn’t walk straight for several days and was covered with scratches and bruises and NEVER wants to repeat that while Linton got a taste of his magic pussy and tries EVERYTHING to repeat that again…”

“Classic conflict of interest”, Air commented dryly….

“What exactly does Linton do?”

“I don’t know and never cared to find out”, Omega replied, “and Linton would never ask me… Let him have his fun with the people who are into this kind of activities…”

“I’m the wrong to ask as well… And stuff like that better remains behind closed doors anyway!”, Air added…

“Thanks for telling me!”

Meanwhile Linton seemed to be in fight with himself… After a while, he finally opened his mouth: “Water, look at me!”

The shy demon looked up…

“Water, I promise to leave you alone! Really!”

“For how long?”, Water snorted.

“Just listen to me, please”, Linton begged, “you look so good! Whatever you did with your body really paid off! You look fantastic and the way you talk…”

“What do you want?”, Water interrupted him, “stop the bootlicking and get to the point!”

“How do these piercings feel?”

Water laughed: “I knew it! Just get them yourself and you’ll know!”

Now it was Linton who was laughing: “Good idea! I bet I’d get everything for half the prize!”

He continued to laugh while none of us seemed to have gotten the apparent joke…

“Why?”, Water sounded annoyed, “because you’d bang the poor piercer to the point he or she forgets to charge you?”

Linton stopped to laugh: “What do you think of me?”

“That you’re a savage!”, Water replied bluntly.

“I might be but this has nothing to do with my sex life for once, Water!”, Linton explained, “here, let me show you!”

And with that, he ripped his shirt off and revealed the obvious reason for the ‘discount’… There was only one nipple left between all the scars, deep ridges and apparently burnt skin…

“What the fuck happened to you?”, Water spat out.

“I told you that these damned Christians like to torture and cut off things… Luckily, they didn’t manage to part me from anything too vital….”

“Linton!”, a concerned Omega began, “that looks pretty bad! Anything we can do for you?”

“No, I’m fine… The holy water, the cause of all the burns, long lost its effect and I got rid of that damned cross myself…”

“What cross?”

Linton turned around to show us his back… A large piece of skin was missing at his left upper back and shoulder now covered with some pretty nasty looking patches of rough scar tissue: “Cut it off myself! This dammed cross kept hurting me to the point I couldn’t take it anymore… Ever since its gone, I feel much better… To begin with, they scarred me…”

“Did they, by any chance, bless those scars?”, Omega asked eagerly….

“Well, of course… Why are you asking?”

“Because of this!”, Omega said while removing his shirt and turning around… Showing the massive cross of scars on his back…

“Does it not bother you?”

Omega shook his head: “Not at all… They forgot to bless it!”

“Lucky you! Although I suggest to never show this to any Christian…”

While all sat back down, Airs deep voice suddenly echoed through my head: “Papa, when did this become a place of the shirtless?”

I choked on my own food…

“Papa, are you alright?”, a worried Water asked…

Air looked at me guiltily… 

I finally managed to get that piece of waffle out of my trachea: “Yeah… I should play closer attention to my food though!”

The table fell silent again…

“Linton, anything else missing?”, Omega asked finally.

“Only a toe… The little toe on my left foot”, Linton answered casually, “nothing too tragic!”

And with that, he turned back to his plate…

“Nothing more?”, Omega kept poking…

“No!”, the half-demon said a bit too quickly…

“What happened to your right eye?”

All eyes at the table looked up… To me, both of his eyes seemed to be perfectly fine… And I wasn’t the only one…

“Omega”, Air entered the conversation though non-verbally, “there is nothing wrong…”

“Nothing wrong?”, Omega interrupted his brother, “then explain all the cables and shit in there!”

“When did you realize it?”, Linton asked.

“Straight when you opened the door! I can feel any sort of electronics…”

“But nothing appearance-wise gave it away?”

All heads in the room began shaking…

“Good! I was always a bit afraid that people would recognize it”, Linton sounded relieved…

“If it wasn’t for my… abilities, I wouldn’t have sensed it!”, Omega assured him…

“But what happened to your eye then?”, I asked.

Linton shrugged his shoulders: “Someone thought it was a good idea put a small spoon in there and start stirring… Ever seen ‘Once Upon A Time In Mexico’?”

My stomach began to turn…

“…But I managed to escape before they could cause more damage and focus on the other eye… Luckily they didn’t manage to damage the optic nerve… Only the eyeball… And once the technology was far developed enough, I started to craft…”

His hand moved up to his right eye and pushed a hidden button… To reveal a metal eyeball with a red laser like thing as iris underneath a lifelike cover that had moved up…

“The ladies in the club love my eye! One suggested to get a bionic arm as well… Maybe later… The persona I created to deejay is supposed to be a robot of some sorts and the eye is quite handy for stuff like that… Once the first electronic tune sounds through the club and the eye is out, people can’t help themselves but go completely crazy… Once there was this chick that jumped on stage and began to undress herself until she was naked… Ahh… she was a beauty and then she wanted to lick….”

“But can you see properly with that thing?”

Linton looked a bit displeased to have been interrupted: “Omega, I’m fine! I invested a lot of time in this eye and I CAN see! In fact, better than before since I can see in the dark with this thing!”

Be pushed the invisible button again to further obscure the eye: “My only concern is that people might realize! Which fortunately, isn’t the case unless you can fucking sense electronic signals! Enough of my body! There isn’t anything else missing!”

“Really?”, Omega poked.

Linton rolled his eyes: “Who is paranoid now!”

“I’m serious!”

“Everything else is still where it’s supposed to be! But enough now! Thank you for the breakfast!”, Linton said while pushing his chair back and standing up, “but Alpha had enough of his beauty sleep by now! If you excuse me since I’m not allowed to touch certain sensitive demons at this table…”

Water shook his head upon hearing those words but still followed him up the stairs like the rest of us…

“In which room is he?”, Linton asked while standing in front of the six doors…

“Straight ahead!”, Omega smirked while pointing towards the big double door.

“Can I use this room for a while?”, Linton asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders: “Sure…”

“But please clean it once you’re finished!”, Omega added quickly.

Linton entered the room and quickly closed the door behind him. Water, Air, Omega and I looked at each other and I was about to ask what they were possibly going to do in there when the shrieking began…

“Alpha sucks! Omega doesn’t!”

Water burst out into laughter: “You permanently messed with that birds’ brain, Omega?”

“I simply had to!”, Omega chuckled… Even Air seemed highly amused…

Seconds later, the massive door opened again to reveal a rather confused Linton with the still shrieking parrot caught between his fingers…

“Alpha sucks! Omega doesn’t!”

“Seriously”, he yelled, “who bought Alpha a fucking parrot and taught it this fucking phrase?”

“That’d be us!”, answered a laughing Omega while pointing towards himself and me…

“That bird is not staying here!”, Linton retorted… 

Fractions of second later, a very upset and shrieking bird was thrown in our direction… In these few seconds before the door closed and Sara the parrot decided to sit down on Omegas massive shoulders, a tiny figure slipped himself past us and into my now occupied bedroom… Then, the door fell shut with a loud bang…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself for a few very smutty chapters!


	45. Alpha...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, these doors were never supposed to be opened... But somebody convinced me to change that...
> 
> Therefore, I dedicate this chapter to PossesseeOfAvarice for encouraging me to tell the story behind these doors! 
> 
> Before you read this: this chapter and a later one are told from Alphas perspective and the entire interaction in this chapters is in the demonic langauage, hence why all feautured characters talk fluently
> 
> Enjoy the smut!

“Where was this unspeakable noise coming from?”, a rather disoriented Alpha asked himself… But the throbbing in his head wouldn’t allow one clear thought… Nor would it allow him to open his eyes… Alpha cursed himself mentally… Why was he, out of all his brothers’, the only one who couldn’t tolerate alcohol very well? He, the most outspoken, outgoing and social one? And what were three bottles of champagne compared to the countless bottles of hard booze his brothers had drowned? And even Papa, being a human, had done fairly well with his whiskey… But Alpha? 

“Alpha sucks! Omega doesn’t!”

“Where was Sara?”, it shot through Alphas dazzling head, “why was she shrieking like that?” 

He attempted to move… But his limbs didn’t obey… 

The shrieking stopped when the door shut with a loud bang… 

“Maybe the others, uncommonly ruthless in their behavior, had left for breakfast… I should probably go back to sleep and try to get rid of this horrible hangover”, Alpha thought… He tried to clear his mind…

“Hello, my pet!”, a soft voice in the demonic language whispered in his ear…

Alpha jumped… A shiver running down his spine… This couldn’t be… He must be dreaming… This couldn’t be HIM… Alpha again tried to open his eyes… Nothing happened as his body had gone numb again… Maybe this was a dream… He hadn’t dreamt of HIM in quite some time… But this had felt so real… Real to the point that he felt his dick getting hard… Maybe something had been in the champagne or in the stuff he had smoked last night…

“Pet, open your eyes!”, the voice continued in the demonic language, but more demanding this time, “open your eyes for your master!”

Alphas cock got harder and harder… He yelped in confusion… The voice had sounded so real… This couldn’t be HIM and neither could this be Omega… His brother would never speak to him like that in their language… Never utter something as dirty in the unholy demonic language… And none of the others had ever called him ‘pet’ except Papa who didn’t speak the language…

“Alpha!”, the voice continued, “one last time: open your eyes and look at me!”

“No, I can’t!”, Alpha screamed out while shielding his ears from the voice with his limbs finally obeying, “you’re not real! You’re in my head! I won’t open my eyes! If I do, it will only hurt!”

The voice didn’t reply… Alphas heart was still beating heavily… He felt his fiery blood rushing through his body… His lungs eagerly demanded oxygen… He breathed heavily… Could feel the fire inside of himself… This dreams or visions combined with the hangover were simply too much...

Alpha felt the matrass underneath him moving… Someone crouched over him… Strong fingers moved his eyelids apart… The sun was blinding him… Alpha blinked heavily… A dark figure was above him… Dark hair obscured its face… Slowly, Alpha regained his vision…

“Who… are… you?”, he asked with a shivering voice….

“Alpha, don’t you recognize your master?”, the figure hissed… Alphas eyes followed one hand as it slowly pushed the thick dark hair out of its face... To reveal one shining yet pulsating red eye… Alpha couldn’t help but stare… Slowly getting hypnotized by the red light… Then, it finally dawned on him… 

“Linton…”, he said with a weak voice, tears slowly forming in his eyes… What had happened to his master?

“Shhhh!”, Linton hissed again, “pet, stop crying!”

But Alpha had lost control over his body: “I… I… can’t!”

“As your master, I command you to stop immediately!”

But the tears continued to flow… 

Suddenly, Alpha felt a hand on his throat and he gasped for air… Shortly after, the other hand hit him hard in the face… He screamed loudly… 

“Look at me!”, Linton hissed, “your master is back, pet! And you will obey!”

But Alpha continued to cry as his brain failed to process everything… This was not real… His mind was playing tricks on him… HE couldn’t be back after all these years… All the wait… The pain of leaving HIM behind… Linton all by himself… All the sorrow and grief Alpha had felt… That had broken his heart… And nothing had ever managed to compensate his pain… Not even Omega agreeing to call him the name his true master had called him and treat him the way he deserved to be treated… He deserved far more pain… Far more humiliation… And torture… Something, his good-hearted twin wasn’t capable of executing… Only his master was… 

The hand hit him a second time: “STOP CRYING, PET!”

This time, the message broke through and Alpha indeed stopped… With red swollen eyes, he looked up at the red and the blue eye feeling slightly hazy from the sight and the lack of oxygen: “Is… it… really… you?”

Linton above him smiled warmly and loosened the grip on Alphas throat: “Who else should it be?”

“I… I don’t… know…”

“I’m not a fucking ghost!”, Linton hissed, “I’m still there for you after all those years! I promised you to come back to you and you promised me to wait for me! Here I am, pet!”  
“S… Sorry, ma… master!”, Alpha managed to get out, “I… I just couldn’t b… believe it…”

“Did you not trust in me, pet?”

“It’s not his fault”, another voice cut in, “Linton, blame it on the alcohol… I think Alpha had a few too many last night and…”

With big eyes, Alpha watched as Linton climbed off him and hit Earth hard in the face: “The fact that I tolerate you here, servant, doesn’t mean you can speak whenever you want! Understood?”

Earth lowered his head and nodded submissively…

Linton turned around: “Back to you, Alpha… Have you been a good pet?”

His dick got harder and harder… Alpha looked down himself… He could see and feel it… And so could his master… He had been a bad boy and expressed his thoughts: “Forgive me, master! I have sinned! Please, I demand to be punished… by you, master! Please, master, punish me!”

“So it will be, you dirty little pet!”, Linton hissed.

“Linton, don’t!”, Earth cut in, “please! He has patiently waited 160 years for you two to be reunited! It almost drove him insane… You saw what he did to Omega in despair of not being with you! You should reward him inst…”

Linton’s hand hit Earth with a loud smack… The face of the usually so pale tiny demon turned a bright red…

“Servant, I didn’t allow you to speak!”, Linton yelled, “the pet has been a bad pet and therefore deserves its punishment! Although I must say his fidelity is remarkable… I will be mildly with your punishment, pet!”

Despite the heavy hit he had just received, Earth smiled… Alpha sometimes wondered why Earth was there with him and his master all the time… Why he endured the pain and the humiliation when he once again opened his mouth unasked for… Alpha had his theories though… 

Alpha was pretty sure that Earth wanted to protect his brother… The first night he had ever been with them was when Linton had been in a particularly bad mood and had beaten Alpha very severely… He had deserved his punishment though… But not THAT much… Alpha had screamed at the top of his voice… He guessed that Earth had heard him… The screams had probably reminded him of the night all those horrible things had happened to Water… The night when he had been as helpless as the shy demon and had to watch everything… 

Well, Earth had decided to help Alpha after he hadn’t been able to help Water, the fiery demon guessed… Ever since, he was with Alpha and Linton to stop the latter when he was going too far… Earth had never spoken to Alpha about that… But somehow, his heart told him that he was right with the motives of his smallest brother since Earth usually wasn’t that much into this kinky shit… 

Deep down, Alpha knew, Earth was a big sucker for the cheesiest romantic stuff… That despite all the pranks and mischief, he had a soft heart… Loving to comfort those around him… Especially spoiling Water… But he always pretended to be on the tough and rough side when it came to Linton or his dominance plays with Air… Alpha wasn’t even sure if Omega was aware of the real nature of his brother since he avoided anything romantic with the smallest demon… Nobody seemed to be but Alpha… 

Alpha always knew stuff like that… He could sense the romantic nature of people, or in this case demons, at first sight without even speaking to them… Being a fire demon, it was in his blood… In his nature… 

Why he always ended on the bottom and mostly in rather ridiculous degrading situations, he couldn’t explain… But he liked it and more importantly: he needed it… The time in the isolated church had almost driven him crazy… Alpha remembered only too well how he had begged Omega to hurt him for what he had done… He had deserved it but also needed it… How he had enjoyed every painful second when Omega had finally carved his symbol in his ass… Alpha only wondered what Linton would say about that…

“Pet!”, his master’s voice brought him out of his promiscuous thought, “are you still with us?”

“Yes, master!”

“I told you to undress, but you didn’t listen!”, Linton hissed angrily, “undress! Or you will regret it!”

“We will soon find out what he says”, Alpha thought to himself as he stripped down to his boxers…

“Everything, pet!”

Alpha sighed and pulled down his boxers to reveal his erection…

“Why are you hard already, pet?”

“I missed you, master!”, Alpha answered sincerely.

“Pet, explain all these scars and cuts to me!”

Alpha looked at all the marks on his pale flesh, mostly his thighs, and sighed: “Master, I inflicted most of them myself because I couldn’t stand being without you…”

“Pet, and what about the others?”

Alpha took a deep breath: “Master, Omega is behind the oth…”

“Omega?”, Linton raised an eyebrow, “I thought he is too soft for this stuff… Pet, elaborate!”

“Master, after I hit him because of your absence, I offered him a compensation and eventually, he agreed…”

“Pet, how long did it take to convince him?”

“Several decades, master.”

Linton laughed and set off to further inspect his pets body… Therefore, he began to slowly circle Alpha… But after a few steps, he stopped… Alpha felt nails digging into his marked bottom cheek… But he didn’t dare to flinch nor utter any sound despite the increasing force of the grip…

“Pet”, Linton exclaimed furiously, “why is the quintessence symbol carved in your ass? I demand a good reason or you will be severely punished!”

A tear rolled down Alphas cheek: “Master, it was an eye-for-an-eye sort of deal… I accidentally marked Omega for all eternity and therefore, I felt I owed him to mark me…”

Linton still hadn’t released him… Alpha felt the first drips of blood running down his leg… This would be a brutal night if Linton already started like that… Alpha tried to stay calm… 

“Pet, who did fuck you in all those years?”

Alpha gulped: “Master, a… all… of them…”

“Linton, you never told him to stay away from any sex with us!”, Earth cut in.

Linton’s nails left Alphas sensitive flesh to hit Earth for the third time: “You spoke without permission again, servant! One more violation of my orders and you will suffer in Alphas stead! And now, chain that filthy pet up! Pet, I want names!”

Alphas eyes followed Earth as he picked up a stool, placed the piece of furniture next to himself, climbed on it and began to attach the chains to his waiting wrists… Alpha had no idea how the chain had found their way under the ceiling… 

“Pet, names! Now!”

Alphas eyes moved to the ground: “Master, I have always slept with Omega… You know that… Then Water and from time to time Earth and Air… Well, and recently Papa…”

“Dirty pet, you slept with that clown already?”

“Yes, master…”

“How is he, pet?”

“Master, he is a great lay…”, the moment Alpha had uttered these words, he wished he had bitten his forked tongue…

Linton yelled furiously: “He is what, pet?”

Alpha remained silent…

“Repeat these words, pet! Or you will regret it!”

“He is a great lay, master”, Alpha repeated quietly, “though no match to you, master!”

Linton still seemed to be pretty pissed: “That’s the very least to excuse yourself, pet! But with ‘how is he?’, I was more referring to his preferences… Enlighten me, pet?”

“Master, he is a bit like Omega… Though less dominant… Seems like he enjoys both sides of the medal, master…”

Linton seemed to be satisfied with the answer… No competition for himself… The apex predator… Alpha had the feeling that the time for talk was over… And Linton indeed produced a big black butt plug out of his bag instead of questioning him any further… Alpha gulped at the sight of the object… The plug was huge even for Alphas taste… This could get funny… Alpha wondered, what Linton had in mind… Even Earth looked concerned at the big black butt plug… 

But before things got started, Linton had one last piece of information for him: “Pet, just that you know: You’re not allowed to cum until I say so and this might take a while! If you will be obedient, I might grant you a wish later! I hope you remember the safe word!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only the beginning!


	46. Plans...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Papas persepective...

“Was that Earth?”, I asked in confusion.

“Yep!”, Omega answered while stroking the big parrot on his shoulders which oddly stopped its shrieking… Somehow, the drinking night and the new little phrase the bird had learnt, had changed the relationship between the two of them…

“Why did he enter?”

“I suggest talking about that somewhere else!”, Omega said quickly… Seconds later, I realized why… The loud moans and screams already emerging from within the room were better to be left alone…

“So, what exactly are they doing in there, why is Earth with them and what is his role?”, I asked upon entering the studio.

“Are we nosy again?”, Omega chuckled.

“Always!”

“Well, I can’ tell you much”, Omega began, “only that Alpha needs a lot of bruise and healing paste afterwards… Earth at least has the decency to apply it himself.”

“What is Earth then doing in there?”, I repeated.

“I don’t know!”, Omega said.

I didn’t believe him: “But you always sneak up on…”

The tall bulky demon violently shook his head…

“He would normally do”, Water stepped in, “but even he avoids any closed room with Alpha and Linton inside… Well, we all do… Except Earth and he never talks about it… Not even with me…” 

“I accidently sneaked on them once”, Omegas face distorted, “and I deeply wish I hadn’t done that… I didn’t know they were in there and entered… Purely by accident… You can’t imagine how quickly I turned on my heels… Let them do their things in private and better not bother about the things they’re doing…”

“So, no idea about Earth?”

“Nope! We only know that it’s very rough and kinky in general… Let the Tria Prima do their things and Omega and I, well, they always refer to us as vanilla section, ours”, Water spoke…

“Whatever it is they are doing; may I please join the vanilla section?”

Water smiled while Omega answered: “It’s nothing official but you are always welcome!”

“Thanks! Hey, Air! Where do you belong?”

“In the library! You must excuse me!”, a deep voice echoed through my head before he simply disappeared.

Omega shrugged his shoulders: “He has always played in a league of his own…”

“And he is very good at that!”, Water added with a wicked expression on his face…

This time, I didn’t poke… Air just was one of these persons who were better left alone… At least sometimes… 

But one thing was still on my mind: “Ehhh… Omega… This whole situation just seems a bit odd to me… I mean, Air and Linton are father and son and they have barely spoken with each other…”

“Oh that”, Omega said while scratching his head, “is a bit complicated… Well, Air is Linton’s biological father… But as you know, he isn’t the best with people… Let alone raising a child… During that time, I was busy with so many other things, especially with getting Water and Earth back on track after the… you know after the rape, and Air wasn’t really interested, so Alpha took care of Linton…”

“Alpha as parent?”, rapidly flashed through my mind…

And even though I hadn’t spoken it out loud, I knew that Omega was very well aware of what I was thinking: “I knew it was a weird choice but at that time it definitely was the best one… Alpha has always been very sensitive when it comes to other people… Been good to animals… Couldn’t hurt a fly…”

“Yet somehow this whole situation got out of control and Alpha ended up as Linton’s fuck toy!”, Water added dryly, “at least Alpha loves it that way!”

“Yeah”, Omega continued, “and Air doesn’t want to get in the way of their activities… I mean they haven’t done it in quite some time… But Air and Linton will talk properly once certain physical desires have been satisfied…”

A few hours later while preparing dinner, Alpha entered the kitchen weirdly walking with a rolling gait and bruises on his usually so pale throat… But a wide smile on his face… Earth with a few bruises on his face and Linton followed… 

“Finished for today?”, Omega asked while levitating the steaming lasagna on the table and the parrot still on his broad shoulder….

“Nope!”, Linton smirked, “we only started!”

“Then I’d ask you to please relocate to Alphas room since there are people with plans for the night as well!”

Linton’s left eyebrow moved up: “Okay! I respect other people’s wishes! May I ask what plans?”

“The same as you savages… Only less disgusting!”, Water shot back.

All heads in the room turned towards the usually so shy demon…

“Water”, Linton begun, “out of all…”

“Fucking savages!”, the parrot interrupted him with a loud shriek.

Linton looked at the bird, who was still shrieking, rather displeased: “Can we please get rid of this creature?”

Alpha suddenly jumped up and waddled towards his pet and took the bird off Omegas shoulder to place it on his own and kissed it on its big beak: “Sara, no one… is… going… to… h… h… harm… you, my precious… little… thing! B… B… But… who… t… taught… you… that… nasty… phrase?”

“Alpha sucks! Omega doesn’t!”, the parrot shrieked this time… Repeatedly… As if answering the question…

Alpha looked at his brother and continued in his broken Swedish: “Omega, could… you… p… please… stop… messing… with… Sara?”

Omega shrugged his massive shoulders and replied: “If you are leaving it in my care while getting fucked senseless, I simply cannot guarantee that my presence won’t leave any lasting influences!”

“Fine”, Alpha cried out and turned to his parrot, “Sara, daddy won’t… leave… you… alone…”

But Linton interfered: “No shrieking birds during our private sessions!”

“Alpha, you heard your savagely master!”, Water said dryly, “you can either piss him off and therefore receive a ton of extra punishment from that disgusting fucker or send your precious pet to Omegas school of insulting phrases!”

When the hell did that demon get so cheeky?

Luckily, the rest of dinner passed without further disturbances…

Alpha indeed had decided and left the parrot in our care… Then, the fiery demon and his kinky friends had left to continue their session… Omega had remarked that Alpha would very likely be as colorful as his parrot in the morning if Linton should continue his game…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will get pretty dark and dirty in the next chapter...


	47. Dark Night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when I'll be able to update next since I'm quite busy with exams and afterwards will be at Wacken...
> 
> Have fun with the chapter!
> 
> Before I forget: This chapter is told from Alphas perspective

The door behind him closed with a loud bang… Alpha gulped heavily… The foreplay was over now… He knew that… He didn’t have to wait long for the first command…

“Undress, pet!”, Linton hissed angrily…

Alpha obeyed immediately… Buttons went flying as he ripped the shirt off himself revealing his pale scarred skin… Seconds later, he was completely naked… He stood in front of his master… Head down and eagerly awaiting his next commands…

Their session before dinner had been brutal… But not as bad as Alpha had expected after such a long time… His master had told him that they wouldn’t get anywhere until that big black butt plug was all the way in… Linton had then told Alpha, who was still chained to the ceiling, to stand on the tip of his toes while spreading his legs as far apart as possible… Alpha had felt like a degraded ballerina and had asked himself what his master had in mind… Linton had then placed a small table underneath Alpha and it slowly dawned on him what would happen… And he had been right… Linton first had lubed up the black monstrosity and then placed it right underneath his entrance… Gravity and his tiring muscles would slowly do the rest…

Then, Linton had begun to further question Alpha about the last 160 years… Especially focusing on the new Papa… Alpha had told him everything… Occasionally receiving a few blows with the flat hand when Linton hadn’t been satisfied with what Alpha had told him… Eventually, his muscles had started to give in… Soon, Alpha had begun to feel the burning sensation of his poor butthole being stretched to new dimensions… Meanwhile, Earth had made sure that there was enough lube to ease the process at least a bit… Alpha had been deeply thankful for that… 

Countless hours later, Alphas legs just couldn’t take it anymore… They simply had given in… His whole body had shot down… With a sting of pain, the black butt plug had finally moved all the way in… Alpha had screamed loudly as his usually very trained entrance was stretched further than it had ever been… 

His master had smiled widely: “Finally! Now, pet, get dressed! We’re continuing after dinner! Don’t even dare to remove the toy! Servant, remove his chains and assist him!” A few minutes later, Alpha had been dressed again… Moving with that monstrosity inside him hadn’t been pleasant at all… But Alpha hadn’t dared to complain… He had simply endured everything… Whatever his master had told him… Always…

“Pet, look at me!”, his master hissed angrily… Thus brining Alpha back to the here and now. Alphas head shot up immediately…Desperately awaiting whatever his master had in mind next… Linton began to circle him… Occasionally, his hands found their way to his nude form… Tracing the many scars that marked Alphas body… While Linton continued to do so, he finally continued to speak: “Pet, after all you and our dear servant have told me, I’ve come to the conclusion that you indeed have behaved well in my absence…”

Alpha exhaled in relieve… 

“Still…”

Alphas heart sank quicker than it had risen…

“…you let somebody else mark you without my consent… Let me see… That makes 25 lashes…”, Linton hissed while grabbing Alphas marked bottom cheek tightly, “and you disobeyed me at dinner…”

“What did he do wrong?”, Earth interrupted him. Linton’s hand left Alphas ass quickly to execute another slap… Again, the face of the tiny demon turned red quickly…

“Servant, I’ve told you to keep your mouth shut earlier! Have you already forgotten that?”, Linton hissed angrily, “one more word and you will share fate with the pet! I’m sure I can get another of these black beauties and whipping you would be so much fun! Let me assure you that!”

Alpha could see the fear in his little brother’s eyes… The room fell silent… 

“Good!”, Linton finally continued, “what he did do wrong at dinner was considering to take this filthy bird inside of this room! And pet, I told you earlier that this thing doesn’t belong in here! 25 more lashes should be the least… 50 for the start shouldn’t be too much, pet… Right?”

Alpha nodded his head despite the uneasy feeling beginning to form in his stomach… 

“Servant, chain him up!”

Alphas nerves began to flatter… He tried his best to distract himself by watching Earth as he quickly chained him up… Soon, Alphas hands were high above his head and keeping him in place… Earth backtracked in a corner of the room out of Alphas vision… Leaving him to observe either his naked toes on the cold marble or Linton who probably was still deciding which whip to use… 

Alphas thoughts were racing… His knees buckled… Shivers of fear running down his spine… How would he take it? The pain? The blood? After all the years… They had made Alpha forget how it felt like… 

Suddenly, Linton turned around with THE black leather whip in his hand… The same he had used last time… More than 160 years ago… Alpha gulped… It was also the whip that hurt the most… Cut the skin the easiest… The one that Linton simultaneously used the most frequent… Probably because of that… He again circled Alpha… Alpha closed his eyes… Fearfully awaiting the first lash… The first lash of his punishment…

Alpha heard the buzzing sound of the leather fabric as it quickly moved through the air… But nothing… It only hit the floor… Not his guilty flesh… Alpha knew that Linton liked to toy with him… And he was highly successful with that… Every time he heard that buzzing sound, Alphas body tensed up… It was a wonder he didn’t utter a sound… Or even worse…

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his body… The whip had finally found its destination… Alphas right upper back… He had felt it very clearly as his skin was cut open… As the material moved through his flesh… Fractions of a second later, his tortured flesh was pounding… Thin streams of his fiery blood running down his back… But Alpha didn’t wine nor cry… He deserved it…

Instead of panicking, he relaxed… The lash brought memories back… How he had missed those sessions with his master… They freed him… Lash after lash…. More and more trouble taken from his mind… Setting him free from his sins… 

Alpha had begged Omega to hurt him like that when they had been locked in the church… Had put the whip in his brother’s hands… Had pleaded for his well-deserved punishment… Had been on his knees and tried to explain his needs… His desires… Year after year… While Omega eventually had agreed to call him his ‘pet’ and treat him way rougher than he usually would do, choking included, convincing the kind-hearted demon to hit Alpha had proved to be a hopeless endeavor… 

It was against Omegas principles… Since he deeply despised violence… And only used it if he really had to… But never on purpose… Especially never against his own brothers… Eventually, Alpha had given up… Omega would never hurt him… Even if Alpha asked him… He simply feared the extent of his own powers… And couldn’t stand the sight of those who suffered… Even the ones that suffered willingly… 

Alpha then had tried it with his remaining brothers… Water had simply disappeared upon seeing the whip… It had taken some time to calm him down… Taken months to get him back into bed again… Earth was next… Simply hopeless… Even though he knew most, but not everything, about Alphas needs and desires… But he refused to inflict them… 

In his despair, Alpha eventually had turned to his last option… Air… Which was weird enough in itself… Since Air mostly kept to himself and only very sporadically sought for sexually contact with his fellow demons… Over the years, Alpha had figured out that Air wasn’t too much into male-on-male action… He simply preferred the female sex… Thus mostly, although not that often, reached out for Water… But Water often was busy with others… The bigger problem was that Air liked it a bit rougher… A thing Water didn’t like too much… That’s when Air sought out for Alpha… At least when he felt like living out that side… He was a sadist… A true sadist… Much like his son… Sometimes, Air joked that Linton at least had inherited one thing… Alpha had always played along and endured everything… Being a masochist himself…

Then came the day, when Alpha had asked Air for the thing he desired the most… Lashes… Being freed from his sins… To suffer… Air had simply stared at him… For a very long time… Alphas nerves had begun to flatter caused be the feeling of being x-rayed… After an eternity, Alpha had asked Air if he would do it… Air had only laughed and told him that the greatest suffering and torture would be to deny Alpha his wish… Fucking sadist… With no one to hurt him, Alpha had tried it himself… It just wasn’t the same…

Turning back to the here and now, Alpha deeply enjoyed every bit of noise and especially every bit of pain the whip caused… Every fresh cut in his pale flesh… The more Linton hurt him, the more he relaxed… Alpha hoped that it would never be over… That his master would always stand behind him… Preferably a whip in his strong and steady hands… A moan escaped his mouth when the next lash hit him… Alpha begged that his master hadn’t heard him… Alpha bit his forked tongue… Until the next lash hit him… He must have been lucky… 

Some time later, Alpha was feeling light-headed… All his sins washed away… Blood was floating down his back as he hung there… The chains prevented him from falling since his feet had given in… Kept him in place… His master was standing in front of him… Inspecting his thickening erection… 

“Pet, what is that?”

Alpha couldn’t answer… Alpha knew that his mater was very well aware how much he liked his punishments… The beatings… The whippings… But not how much he needed those treatments… If Linton would know the whole truth, something Alpha had never told anyone, he would begin to treat him differently… The worst scenario would be following his father’s footsteps… Denying Alpha all sorts of physical punishments would be the worst of them all… That’s why he always tried to keep his dick under control when he received the beatings and whippings… He could have easily cum from the lashes alone… But that would be too obvious… But keeping his cock under total control after all those years was simply impossible…

“You really missed me, pet! Right?”

Alpha nodded his head: “Yes, master! I missed you!”

Linton smiled widely: “Good pet! Now, servant, treat those wounds while I change! Move!”

Alpha watched as Linton grabbed his belongings and locked himself in the bathroom…

“Hey, Alpha!”, Earth said while waving a hand in front of his face, “are you okay!”

Alpha smiled widely: “Have never felt better!”

Earth shook his head: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, mate! Seriously, what happened to you to make you like this?”

Despite the restrains, Alpha shrugged his shoulder: “Sometimes, I’d like to know that myself!”

Earth went on to get some disinfecting and healing paste out of one cupboard and began to apply it on Alphas tortured back… The burning pain made Alpha clench his teeth… 

“Sure that you’re okay?”, Earth asked in concern…

Alpha nodded his head… After that, the two of them remained silent… Eventually, the wounds would heal… Maybe leaving some scars behind… Alpha silently endured the pain… It wasn’t that bad… Still, it technically wasn’t his master who was inflicting the pain…

“You still haven’t finished!”, an angry voice echoed through the room… 

Alphas head shot up while Earths fingers suddenly and unexpectedly dug deep into one of the cuts on his back… A sharp pain shot through Alphas body… But he was too taken to feel it… By the view in front of him…

His master was standing in the opening of the bathroom… Wearing a fancy looking black suit, black shirt, leather gloves and… and… and a leather mask covered with shiny metallic spikes… From the right eyehole of the mask emerged the red pulsating light Alpha had seen before… Hypnotizing Alpha…

Underneath the mask, his master smiled mischievously and spoke with the sweetest most seductive voice Alpha had ever heard: “I am the puppet master. I manipulate many of the characters and events that you see. But I am invented, too, for your entertainment and amusement, puppet!”

Whatever that meant, Alpha wanted to play… Be his toy… His pet… His puppet…

Hours later, Alpha was kneeling in front of his master who was sitting in an armchair… Pain was shooting through his maltreated body… From his master’s treatment… He was covered in cuts and bruises… Right now, Alpha didn’t want to image how he’d feel like in the morning… Luckily, demonic wounds tended to heal quite quickly… He had other things on his mind anyway… Right now, his whole attention and care was focused on the task ahead of him… 

After the many hours of hanging from the ceiling, his master had finally released him… Linton, who was still wearing his mask, had given him very specific instructions before he had let himself fall in the armchair… Take his master over the edge… A task that wasn’t too easy Alpha knew from their previous encounters… Linton was quite hard to please… Nevertheless, Alpha had knelt in front of his master and eagerly freed his erection… Carefully minding his sharp fangs as his lips had enveloped the precious flesh… Giving his very best to please his master… To thank him for treating Alpha the way he deserved to be treated…

Now, what felt like an eternity later, Alpha was still trying his best… Linton’s thick cock was buried deep in Alphas throat while his fingers were carefully massaging his master’s balls… Linton above him had watched everything eagerly… But now, his head was thrown back slightly while his eyes behind the black holes of the mask were shut… Alpha knew that he was on the right way… His lips increased the pressure on his target… He knew that his master was close now… Alphas movements turned deeper and deeper… The breathing above him became flat and clipped… Alpha suddenly felt Linton’s gloved hands in his hair… Urging him to move faster… Alpha obeyed... Soon tasting the first bits of precum… Alpha gave everything and seconds later was rewarded… He felt his master’s stomach tense… His dick turning rock-hard between his lips… Soon shooting thick streams of sticky warm cum in his throat… Alpha swallowed eagerly… To not waste anything of the precious substance…

His master above him relaxed… A hand gently patted his head… Alphas head shot up while still trying to swallow the last bits… Intoxicated eyes looked down at him: “Pet, you did very well! Let me assure you with that! You endured everything without any complaint and did absolutely beautifully! Passion and commitment like this must be rewarded! I grant you a wish! Whatever you like! Pet, tell me!”

Alpha turned red… There was only one thing he really wanted right now… 

“Pet, tell me!”, Linton repeated but now a lot less friendly than before, “spit it out! It can’t be that bad! What is it? Another 50 lashes or being fucked really fucking hard? Pet, speak!”

Alpha couldn’t look his master in the eyes… Instead, he focused on the dick that was still in his hands… Ever since he had seen it, he wanted to have it… But there was no way of getting it… He simply couldn’t go out in public with his demonic appearance… And he wasn’t sure it Linton would agree to do it…

“Pet, talk!”, his impatient master hissed forcefully.

“Ma… Master”, Alpha stuttered, “please… I beg you to… P… p… please, pierce… my… nipples!”

Now that it was out, Alphas heart was beating viciously… Ever since he had seen Water and Papa with their new jewelry and the way they now behaved during sex… There was no way to quell his desire… 

“Are you sure about that, Alpha?”, Linton looked down at him with a worried expression on his face… For the first time since his return, he had broken character… 

“Yes, master!”

“Cross! Cross!”, Linton quickly uttered their safety word, “the game is over! Alpha, for real! Are you really sure about that?”

“Yes!”, Alpha answered eagerly…

Linton buried his face in his hands… After a long moment of silence, Linton slowly slit the spikey leather mask off his head to reveal his sweaty semi-long thick black hair: “Alpha, are you sure? I mean I’ve never done something like that…”

“We’ve played with needles before”, Alpha said stubbornly.

Linton sighed: “Isn’t there anything else I could do for you? We could still visit a professional tomorr…”

“I can’t!”, Alpha interrupted him and immediately bit his forked tongue…

But luckily, Linton didn’t seem to mind: “Why can’t you?”

“Because I look like a fucking demon! I can’t just go out and reveal myself!”

Linton smiled tiredly: “I seem to have forgotten…”

“So, will you do it?”, Alpha drilled with a lot more confidence now…

His opposite sighed again: “I promised to grant you a wish… If that’s what you wish, then be it… But…”

Alpha jumped… 

A hand found its way onto his shoulder: “Relax, Alpha! You didn’t do anything wrong! It’s your wish and I’ll do it! Only under a few conditions… First: Don’t blame me if anything goes wrongs since I’ve got absolutely no experience… Second: You have to organize the jewelry… And third: You will have to be chained up again to prevent you from touching yourself during the procedure and afterwards... Agreed?”

Alphas mood brightened a lot… He would definitively take the risk… So far, every wound had healed... He knew that Water had a spare pare of rings in his room and being chained up for the process actually sounded like a good idea… Alpha therefore agreed… 

A few minutes later, everything was ready… Alpha was hanging from the ceiling again… His tiny nipples had been marked… Earth had gotten the rings out of Waters room… They were now laying within reach… Ready for his waiting flesh… And an unmasked still out of character Linton was standing in front of him, clamp and needle in his hands… Before he had been chained up, Alpha had sterilized the tools with the help of his element… Everything was ready now… 

Linton came closer… The cold metal of the clamp tightly embraced Alphas sensitive left nipple… Their eyes met: “Alpha, are you really sure about that? I mean I have only seen a short instruction video… I don’t want to hurt you…”

Alpha attempted a smile: “You won’t hurt me! I trust you! 100 percent! Just do it!”

“So be it, Alpha!”, with that Linton shrugged his shoulders and positioned the needle, “I want you to take a deep breath and…”

Alpha didn’t need more instructions… He inhaled deeply and waited… Fractions of a second later, the sharp piece of metal was quickly pushed through his flesh… The pain was gone quicker than it had been inflected… Far too quickly for Alphas taste… But enough to get him going… His dick was already getting hard… Alpha looked down at himself… After Linton had removed the clamp, there was only the needle remaining in his left nipple… The very nipple was rock-hard and pounding… A feeling Alpha deeply enjoyed… 

“Are you okay?”, Linton asked in worry…

“Master, you made me really happy today!”, Alpha exclaimed euphorically…

Linton only shook his head and picked up one of the small metal rings from a nearby table… Getting the jewelry in proofed to be rather unpleasant but was a necessary step… 

Linton looked up again once the small clasp of the ring had been closed: “Everything alright? Shall I proceed like this with the other nipple? Or would you like me to do it differently?”

“Could you please pierce it slower, master?”

Linton’s eyebrow shot up while shaking his head: “You’re such a sucker for pain, Alpha… Slower it may be!”

Once the clamp was in place, Linton produced another needle for Alphas right nipple… Alpha watched eagerly as it got closer… It shortly rested against his waiting flesh before it slowly got pushed forward… Alpha shot his eyes as his mind solely focused on the needle that slowly moved forwards… His breathing flattened immediately… The slowly induced pain was overwhelming… Almost better than the lashes… Simply more intense… Deeper… 

A hard slap hit his face… Alpha saw stars… Heard someone talking to him… But didn’t see nor hear whoever it was properly… Too far away…

The next slap brought him back to reality… A concerned yet simultaneously angry Linton was standing in front of him: “Alpha, get your shit together!”

He had sounded worried… 

“Is everything alright, master?”

“Alpha, to be honest, I should be the one asking you that!”

“Master, why?”

Linton smiled darkly: “Just look at yourself!”

Alpha looked down… The needle had been successfully pushed through his nipple and was still stuck in his pounding flesh… Small drops of blood were dripping downwards… His eyes followed the blood… Slowly moving further downwards… And Alpha bit his forked tongue… He hadn’t even felt it… His dick had simply exploded and shot thick streams of cum all over his belly… And over his masters’ expensive suit… Alpha really hadn’t felt it… The feeling in his nipple must have been too overwhelming… Too intoxicating… Too intense to feel anything else… Such a wonderful feeling it had been…

“Sorry, master!”, Alpha mumbled with his head still down…

A hand padded his shoulder and the hissing began: “Well, pet, you ruined my best suit… You dirty little whore! I had such great things in mind for you tonight… Seems like they have to wait since you will be hanging there all night as your punishment for spilling yourself all over me without my permission! You really seem to like needles… Let’s keep that in mind… I might find some other places in the future to be treated equally! The metal looks good on you! I think were done for the night… It’s great to have you back though, Alpha!”

Alpha smiled both internally and externally as his master put the second ring in and proudly inspected his work… He watched as Linton then began to get out of his ruined suit… His thoughts were beginning to get hazy… Among the last things he perceived was Linton signalizing Earth to get with him on the bed… The smallest demon, too, undressed himself and positioned himself to be taken by his master… Alpha should be in his stead… But after such a great release, he didn’t care anymore… He simply closed his eyes and drifted away while thinking about possible places to be treated by his master…


	48. Bright Night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Papas perspective

Water, Omega and I on the other side had relocated to the studio and decided to settle for a drink… 

“Hey, Omega”, Water began after having taken a sip from his whiskey and looked up to the bird on his brother’s shoulder, “what phrase is next?”

Omega smiled widely and padded the parrot: “Regarding the current situation, I was thinking about ‘Alpha sucks dicks’ or ‘daddy’s a slut’… What do you think?”

“I’d settle for both!”, Water smirked and took another sip from his bottle…

“I sure will!”, Omega replied and turned towards the parrot: “Sara, you will make daddy very angry again! But you are too intelligent to not learn anything new, right?”

Omegas ring started to glow…

“Alpha sucks dicks!”

“That was easy!”, Omega assessed over all the shrieking… 

Water smiled: “Your method is simply more effective than whatever our idiotic brother is doing!”

“Hey, Water!”, my speech apparatus once again was working on its own, “you’re not stuttering and we haven’t had sex yet!”

“No, I’m not!”, the usually so shy demon replied, “it’s getting better!”

“Finally!”, Omega added with a wide warm smile.

“Yeah, about time”, Water continued, “since it only took several centuries.”

“But how comes?”, I asked, “why now? After all these years… What has changed?”

Water shrugged his shoulders, took another sip of whiskey and mumbled: “Don’t know…”

“Come on, Water!”, Omega tried to motivate him, “tell him what you told me!”

Water rolled his eyes: “Isn’t it obvious…”

Omegas elbow hit him in the side…

“Okay, okay”, Water gave in, “Papa, I think there is a great number of reasons… All added together might have switched something in my head that used to be very resistant… Among all those reasons of course are the facts that we’re finally free, the world at least in some places is more open minded, my transformation worked out, I can go outside without my mask, we got St. Lucifer back… I could go on like this for quite some time… But most importantly that your predecessor… is gone for good and that… you’re not an asshole… like he was… With you, I’m sure nothing like this will ever happen again… Somehow, this assurance gave me my speech and self-esteem back…”

“Thank you for your trust, Water! It means a lot to me, Water! Really!”, I babbled, “I don’t know what else to say…”

“Papa, it’s nothing… I’m only thankful that you’re as different from that asshole as possible…”

“Now that this matter is off the table”, Omega intervened before the mood in the room could take a turn in the wrong direction, “what about that promise I made a few weeks ago?”

I raised an eyebrow: “What promise?”

“Well!”, Omega began while eagerly rubbing his hands, “if the Tria Prima has fun, why can’t we?”

“Where are you going with this?”, an amused me asked playfully.

Omega smiled widely: “I said I’d bottom for you and it’s in my best interest that Alpha is rather occupied meanwhile, possibly in chains enduring very degrading procedures right now, to watch me getting…”

“Wait!”, Water interrupted him, “are you seriously suggesting to get fucked tonight?”

“Yes…”

“That’s fantastic! I’ve never ever seen you bottom!”

“If Papa agrees”, Omega chuckled, “your dreams will come true, Water!”

How couldn’t I? These words alone had sent shivers and simultaneously waves of warmth through my body…

“Papa, what is your answer?”

I didn’t need words for this… I simply put my glass of whiskey down and jumped on Omegas lap placing a fierce kiss on his scarred yet soft lips… The tall demon kissed back immediately…

“Fucking savages!”

The indignant parrot obviously didn’t like that and set off…

“Should we?”, I said looking after the bird…

“Leave that thing alone!”, Omega said making me turn my attention back on him, “I’ll make it come back once we’re finished! And now, let’s get things going!”

He then lifted me up like I weighed nothing… I tugged my legs around his torso and continued to kiss him… All the way through the hall and up the stairs while a smiling Water followed us… Much to Omegas surprise, my bedroom had been cleaned by Linton and company… Leaving no obstacles in our way… 

We got straight on the bed with Omega sitting down and letting himself fall back… Fractions of a second later, I was sitting on top of him leaning down to continue our kiss… I felt Omegas electrifying fingers moving under my shirt… Somehow, I knew exactly what he had in mind and I was right… But what he did was totally unexpected… The moment his fingers came in contact with the metal bars in my pierced nipples, it really felt like pleasant waves of electricity were wandering through me and thus stimulating the sensitive flesh… I had to swallow hard to keep myself under control and not getting lost in whatever dark magic the tall bulky demon underneath me was practicing… And in one very rare clear moment, I made a mental note to indeed thank Megan for improving my sex-life… She had been right all along… Omega had proven it within seconds… 

“Ohhhh…. Omega”, I moaned, “stop teasing me… Or I won’t be of any use later!”

The demon only chuckled while continuing his game: “I don’t have a taser… But I could always get one! I bet Linton would gladly lend me his!”

“Omega Quintessence, that was probably the worst pun I have ever heard! Get your hands off him and stop draining him!”, Water warned his brother from the side, “we all want to see it happen! If you don’t behave, I might as well get the Tria Prima to get things working with you!”

Omegas fingers stopped sending waves through my sensitive flesh while his scar-streaked eyebrow shot up: “Did you really threaten me with those savages?”

“Yeah, of course!”, Water shot back.

“Where can I get the old Water back?”

“Shut up, or I’m really going to get them!”, Water silenced his brother, “you said you wanted to bottom and now you have to obey! And let me assure you: teasing Papa to the point of total exhaustion does not belong to your part of the job! It’s neither mine nor Papas fault that you’re nervous!”

I looked down on my lover: “Seriously, you’re nervous?”

Omega rolled his big blue eyes: “No! I’m not nerv…”

“Don’t lie!”, Water intervened, “when was the last time Alpha was allowed to top you?”

“About a decade ag…”

“And did it hurt back then?”

“I’m not answering that, Water!”

“I can always go and ask Alpha!”

“No, you’re not!”

“Then answer!”, Water continued calmly, “did it hurt?”

Omega gave in with a sigh: “Alpha might have been a bit over-exited and thus a bit rough….”

I looked down on the demon: “I won’t hurt you!”

“I’m sure you’ll…”, Omega began.

But Water interrupted him: “And on top of that, Papa has the best support and help he could ever ask for: me!”

“Modest today, are we?”

“Only more experienced!”, Water chuckled.

I looked down on Omega: “Somehow this conversation was rather off-turning…”

Omega nodded in agreement…

I shrugged my shoulders still wanting to do it: “Well, I wouldn’t mind if used those magical fingers of yours again!”

A few minutes later, we were just reaching the point where we had been interrupted… Omega sure knew how to turn somebody on… My nipples were rock-hard, our tongues still exploring each other eagerly and my fingers slowly trailing downwards beginning to unbutton his tight jeans… After his fabric prison was finally gone, I turned my full concentration towards his hardening monstrosity… I took it in my hands and slowly licked over its tip….

“Ahhh!”, Omega exclaimed while his fingers dug deep into the matrass searching for support…I enjoyed every second of toying with him… Always teasing him and pushing him a bit closer to the edge… Soon, Omega was a moaning mess underneath me begging for release… Something, I wouldn’t grant him so easily tonight… 

I looked over to the corner of the room while Omega underneath me was babbling incoherently… Water was clearly enjoying the view since he had already removed his shirt while playing with one of his nipples…

“Water, I think it’s time for phase two… Would you mind assisting me?”, I asked him.

“Sure!”, the demon said while moving over to the bed. Before he placed himself on the matrass in a position, that allowed him to observe Omega and me closely as well as ensuring to be seen by the both of us, he handed me a bottle of lube… The good stuff… I put the bottle to the side and began to unbutton my own pair of jeans… The lack of gentle treatment made the tall demon underneath me look up: “Why… did… you… stop?”

“Well, I didn’t want to spoil the great finale!”, I smirked while I jumped out of my jeans, “and now get on your knees!”

With being so close to the edge, it took a while for the tall bulky demon to obey… Luckily, my clumsy attempts to get rid of my jeans gave him some extra time to present me his fabulous back side… That demonic ass of his was just priceless and I could easily spend hour after hour staring at it… But there were more important things than just watching…

I climbed on the bed and kneeled behind my sweet demon and took one last long glance of that ass before I turned my thoughts into action… My hands soon found their way on his bottom checks to spread them apart… I placed a soft kiss on my demons’ entrance…

Omega moaned loudly: “Fuck… Papa…”

That was all that I needed… After taking a nose of his intoxicating scent, my kisses got firmer and wetter… My tongue soon traced circles over his wet hole sending shivers down his spine… After a while, I finally grabbed the lube and began distributing a generous amount on his tight entrance… Following Waters instruction, I slowly inserted my right index finger… He was rather tight and I felt him contracting rather strongly around my digit…

“Papa, please move!”, Omega groaned pleadingly… Under Waters careful instructions, I slowly began to stretch the demon in front of me… Soon, a second finger found its way inside of him… Omegas moans ensured me that whatever I was doing was indeed not hurting him… So I continued to stretch him… I was just about to ask Water if it was time to insert a third finger, when I realized that the usually so shy demon had undressed completely and was busy pleasuring himself… I had been so occupied by the task ahead of me, that I hadn’t seen him taking his clothes off… 

“Stop staring and get that third finger inside him!”, Water brought me out of my thoughts, “just because you two are having the time of your lives doesn’t mean I can’t have any fun either!”

But I couldn’t stop staring at the way Water rubbed his own clit and was stretching himself with a couple of fingers…

“Papa, I need more!”, Omega begged…

I turned my eyes away from the busy demon back to my target and inserted a third finger… Omega in front of me tensed perceptibly… Despite all the stretching, he still felt rather tight… 

“Am I hurting you?”, a worried me asked.

“No!”, Omega exclaimed between gritted teeth, “I’m fine! Just… move… and continue! Hurry… up! I… want… your dick… inside of me!”

A few minutes later, I had the feeling I had done enough stretching…

“Water, do you think…”

But I stopped there and stared open-mouthed at the shy demon… Well, screw the ‘shy’… The way he was so openly pleasuring himself… Four fingers already deep inside his wet and leaking pussy…

“Please!”, I heard Omega beg underneath me, “please, Papa! Fill me! Please!”

I somehow managed to turn my eyes away from Water down to my own length… All the stimulating visuals thanks to Water, Omegas moans and his tight hole around my fingers had already made it rock hard… I grabbed the lube one last time and slowly aimed for my target… The tip of my dick soon touched Omegas waiting entrance… I took in a deep breath and slowly pushed forward… The demon underneath me began to moan and curse loudly… If this is how my own tight virgin of a butt had felt to Alpha all those nights ago, that had sent the both of us so quickly over the edge, it might just be the best fucking feeling on the entire planet save for Waters magic pussy… 

Speaking of Waters magic pussy again, a very load series of the most intoxicating moans made both Omegas and my head turn around despite our own situation…

“Water!”, the both of us exclaimed in unison…

Two lust-filled blue eyes stared back at us: “Screw you and continue your own thing!”

“But”, Omega began.

Water cut him short: “If you guys can wank and fuck on your own, I might very well do this! And it feels great!”

I was about to argue that wanking and being more than wrist-deep inside yourself was a bit different, when the movements of Omegas bucking hips stopped me from expressing myself…

“Please, Papa! Move!”, Omega begged, “I can’t stand it anymore!”

And then, my movements began… First sensually and slowly… But soon, I picked up speed and force… The tall bulky demon underneath me screamed loudly begging me to even move faster… I gladly obeyed and additionally was about to reach out for Omegas monstrosity…

“No!”, Omegas thunderous voice stopped me, “continue… hitting that… magic spot… and… I won’t… need… your hand!”

I carefully placed my hand back on his thighs and let my nails sink into his flesh… Causing the demon to moan loudly… My balls slammed hard against his aching entrance… Seconds later, the both of us watched, as Water came all over his own hand and falling back on the matrass… Completely drained by his own actions…

“Just a bit… more… and… I’ll be there!”, Omega screamed, “come on, Papa! Give me everything!”

Sweat was running down my temples… Let alone the streams on my back… Omega seemed to be claiming every bit of energy inside of me as I mechanically thrusted into his not-so-tight-anymore ass… I was about to collapse out of exhaustion, when I felt him contract around my pounding length… A loud scream echoed through the room as Omega threw his head back in ecstasy while the orgasm raged through his body… The contraction and the pure sight of my enchanted demon was more than enough to take me over the edge by storm… My stomach tensed very quickly and I soon filled my precious demon with my hot seed… 

While I was riding off my orgasm, Waters head had shot up to watch us finish our act… His eyes a mixture of pure intoxication, warmth, affection and admiration… I kept looking into those eyes even after I had emptied myself completely… But not for long… A few seconds, I managed to stay up… Wildly gasping for air…. Then, exhaustion kicked in and I collapsed on top of Omega…

Quite some time later, I felt strong arms transferring me into a more comfortable position… I was too tired to open my eyes… My head soon rested on a very warm shoulder… On the other side, I felt something equally warm and comfortable snuggling against me… I felt a soft kiss being placed on my lips…

“Papa, you did absolutely beautifully! We soon have to do that again!”, a raspy voice whispered, “and now, sleep!”


	49. The Morning After...

The next morning, I, still between two warm bodies, awoke to the sound of a quite conversation…

“Did we wake you?”, Omega asked me even before I had opened my eyes.

Fractions of a second later, I looked into a pair of big blue eyes: “You’re not Alpha! The answer obviously is: No!”

Omega smiled widely and placed a soft kiss on my lips: “Good morning then!”

I felt my head being turned to the side and another pair of lips, this time wetter though, carefully touched mine: “Did you sleep well?”

“Like the dead! This was without a question one of the best nights of my life!”, I smirked, “what about you?”

“I enjoyed every second of it!”, Waters eyes sparkled, “I’d never thought to see Omega bottom… Like a dream coming true and the two of you were so sweet together… Sweet and wild! Next time, I might get a bit more actively involved though!”

“I think we can arrange that! If I just hadn’t been that occupied by our dear Papa, you would have gotten more attention”, Omega chuckled, “but I think you were doing pretty well by yourself!”

“Indeed!”, I added, “next time, you’ll get more attention, Water! Maybe, if we invite Alpha…”

“Speaking of Alpha”, Omega interrupted me, “Water, do you think we should better look after him?”

Water shook his head: “I think he is exactly where he wants to be!”

“But”, Omega continued to push, “my brotherly instinct kicked in! We should check on him!”

“I’m not setting a foot in there!”, Water protested, “you know exactly how much that savage hates to be interrupted!”

“Even Linton has to rest!”, Omega argued, “he can’t fuck him for days! He’s partially human… He needs his rest and food…”

“We could always pretend to serve them breakfast”, I suggested.

Both demons eyed me for a longer moment…

“That’s actually a brilliant idea!”, Omega said euphorically.

“Only if you make sure that savages’ lusty fingers stay away from me!”, Water finally gave in.

Quite some time later, the three of us, four if you counted the parrot on Omegas shoulder, who was now completely dressed, made our ways up the stairs again with a large number of richly filled trays floating behind us. We stopped in front of the door with the ‘Fire’-symbol…

I looked at Omega: “Do I have to prepare myself for something in there?”

“It’s basically a weird sex dungeon”, the tall bulky demon explained swiftly.

“Before we enter, what’s in your room?”, I asked boldly.

“It’s definitively not a perverts’ playground!”

“Then what’s in it? The dream of everyone with a cleaning obsession?”

“Very funny!”, Omega snorted, “there are several open portals to other dimensions and outer-space destinations in there. Thus, it’s not save for anyone to enter… Too great of a chance to get lost… Not even any of my brothers are allowed to be in there!”

“And what are you doing in there?”

“Meditating! That’s the simple answer!”, Omega looked down at me, “promise, that you won’t try to get in there!”

“No, thanks! I certainly don’t want to get swallowed by a blackhole or strand on Jupiter”, I said dryly, “does stuff like that not happen to you?”

“I know my way around time and space”, Omega answered, “and besides, I only go in there if I really feel like I need to calm myself or think a lot, since I prefer to live in the here and now… Enough of that room!”

With that, he knocked against the door with the red triangle carved into its wood… 

No answer…

Omega knocked again: “Hey, Linton! May we come in? We have breakfast for you!”

Still no answer…

Omega leaned against the door to eavesdrop…

He turned back towards us and rolled his eyes: “Only heavy snoring and I think I heard the shower!”

“We can always come back later!”, Water shrugged his shoulder.

“Or simply enter now!”, Omega replied while pushing open the door…

My eyebrows shot up… This was as close to a sex dungeon as I could possible imagine… Everything in the room from the big bed to the various whips in one corner of the room screamed like pain and pleasure… But the real reason my eyebrows had shot up and my jaw had probably dropped was hanging from the ceiling… In chains that only allowed his toes to touch the ground… Butt-naked, heavily bruised, now as colorful as his parrot and still bleeding from various deep cuts… And freshly pierced nipples… Someone must have been quite jealous… But despite this rather unfavorable situation, the demon was deep asleep and heavily snoring…

I scanned the room… Besides poor Alpha, it seemed to be empty… Omega crossed the room only to knock against another door…

“Yeah?”, Linton’s voice echoed from within mixed with the sound of splashing water… 

“It’s only us! We entered since nobody answered when we knocked… We brought you breakfast!”, Omega answered diplomatically, “can we take Alpha down?”

“Let me think about that!”

“How long has he been hanging there, Linton?”

“Okay, okay! You can take him down! I’ll join you in a few minutes!”

Omega turned away from the door and levitated the floating trays on a nearby table and then went on to inspect his sleeping brother…

“Where is Earth?”, I asked Water next to me as we approached the snoring demon still hanging from the ceiling.

“There!”, Water pointed towards the bed, “under the blankets!”

“Man, he is so tiny!”

Both Omega and Water laughed… But the laughter quickly faded when we got closer to Alpha… Omega leaned down and removed something from the demon… He only shook his head: “Linton’s a sadist for letting him sleep without removing this thing and letting him hang like that!”

He then threw the huge black plug to the side and carefully began to pat Alphas cheeks: “Alpha, can you hear me?”

After a while, he finally opened his eyes: “Omega…?”

“Alpha sucks dicks!”, the parrot on the tall bulky demon’s shoulder shrieked loudly.

Alpha sighed in exhaustion: “Why… a… are you… here?”

“To bring you breakfast and make sure you’re okay”, Omega said softly, “when I remove the chains, do you think you can stand?”

“Don’t… know….”

“We’ll find out”, the demon said quietly… But once one of Alphas hands was free, it became obvious that the demon wouldn’t be able to stand on his own… Water and I both grabbed him by the arms, causing Alpha to flinch in pain, while Omega began to free his brother’s other hand… Alphas body fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes... 

“Alpha”, Water grumbled while carrying the slackened demon towards the bed, “could you show at least a bit of decency?”

Omega laughed: “Decency and Alpha? What do you expect! But one thing’s for sure, Alpha: No more sex for today!”

“No!”, the demon protested after he had been placed in a sitting position on the bed.

Omega shook his head: “Just look at yourself!”

Alpha locked his bruised arms in front of his equally pierced, bruised and bleeding chest: “I… know… what… I am… doing!”

“You obviously don’t! I don’t want to have that argument with HER again! Remember, we’ll meet her on Friday!”, a deep voice spoke, “and I’m having a word with my son about that!”

All heads in the room, even Earths emerged from under the blanket, turned towards the tall demon in the doorframe…

“Seriously, dad?”, Linton’s voice echoed out of the bathroom.

Air rolled his eyes: “Seriously, son! I think you had your fun! Plenty of that! Now, it’s time for the serious affairs of life!”

“Can I at least finish the shower and have breakfast first?”

“Of course”, Air answered dryly and approached us, “Alpha, how bad is it?”

“Could… have been… worse”, Alpha answered between gritted teeth, “it… will… heal!”

“Let me at least take of the more severe ones!”

While Air began his work, Omega produced a couple of tubes of bruise paste out of his many pockets and handed one to Earth: “Here!”

The smallest demon now fully emerged from under the blanket and presented us the results of Linton’s work… A very bruised neck and a slightly swollen reddened face… Although his body didn’t look nearly as bad as Alphas… He wasn’t fully naked either and had the decency to take care of himself… 

While Air was treating Alphas back, Omega began to distribute some of the paste around Alphas freshly pierced nipples… Once the first nipple had been taken care of, Omega looked up with a mischievous smile: “Has somebody been jealous?”

“Ma… Maybe”, Alpha said in his broken Swedish, but didn’t say anything else…

“I have the feeling, that if the trend continues like this soon everybody in this house has pierced nipples”, Omega said while looking at me before turning towards the smallest demon who was applying bruise paste on his neck, “Earth, what about you?”

Earth muttered something in the demonic language that made Omega smile…

“Earth here says that he hates needles”, the tall bulky demon translated for me, “at least he hasn’t lost his senses… Alpha, getting pierced in a rather questionable environment could have gone terribly wrong! Ever thought about germs?”

Alpha rolled his eyes: “I’m… a… demon!”

Air snorted: “A demon who tends to pass out fairly quickly and who was nearly ki…”

“Stop it!”, Alpha shut Air up and angrily reached for a slice of toast on a nearby tray… 

I reached out my mind: “Omega, did I miss something!”

“Yeah, you did!”, Airs deep voice answered instead, “I wanted to tell you when we were searching for my son but Omega was too fast… Found him too early before I could tell you.”

“I mean, what’s wrong with Alpha”, I asked in concern, “this seemed to be a quite sensitive issue… And who is she really? I mean the judge… And what is going on between her and Alpha?”

I heard the hearty yet raspy chuckle of Omega in my mind: “I was so sure you caught up on that one… Not dumb… Sneaky Papa… There have been a few divergences between the two of them… And Air really wasn’t supposed to say that…”

“But I did anyway”, Air laughed…

“What about Alpha?”, I pushed forward… The judge could wait… 

Air wanted to say something but Omega was faster: “This is highly personal and a very sensitive topic for Alpha… Papa, it’s better if Alpha tells you himself…”


	50. Broken...

After our very late breakfast had been finished, the rest of us had left Linton and Air to discuss their things in private… After shortly considering what we’d do for the remainder of the day, we had agreed upon spending it together… To my surprise, all of us had settled for a day in the studio… After a short argument between Alpha and Omega about the fiery demon’s request to get dressed despite his severe wounds had been settled, with the outcome that Alpha was now wearing a pair of boxers, we had started to jam and practice some of the material we had written in the last few weeks… Well, and we had totally lost track of time…

It was already dark outside, when Alpha, his parrot again sitting on his shoulder, flinched in pain and put the guitar aside… I couldn’t blame him… If I had been that bruised, I wouldn’t have been able to play guitar for that long… For sure… 

“I… need… some… something… to… drink!”, the fiery demon declared and left the room… I looked after him… My thoughts were racing… Ever since we had found him hanging from the ceiling with his many wounds and bruises, I had been thinking… Of course, Omega had said that Linton and Alpha had a mutual agreement and had been doing sick shit like that for decades, I wanted to paint myself an own picture… I needed to talk to the fiery demon to clarify and verify a few things… 

I had been playing the keyboard all day in addition to providing the vocals since Air was busy talking to his son… I pushed the power button and the instrument went silent: “I think I might need a drink, too! I will be back!”

Omega looked at me with a big question mark in his kind big blue eyes… But my gaze must have been determined enough for him to remain silent… I quickly left the room and followed Alpha… I caught up with him in the kitchen… He was studying his own reflection in the shiny metal of the fridge… His face contorted as he observed his body, the bruises and the many cuts…The nails of his fingers sinking in his own thighs in rage…

“Alpha”, I cleared my throat, “is everything alright?”

Alphas head shot around: “You… you… followed… me?”

“Yeah”, I said while feeling pretty awkwardly, “I was worrying about you… The way I saw you back there… All the wounds… The cuts… The bruises…”

“I’m… fine…”

“Alpha, you’re not… I’m not talking about your physical wounds… The way you were looking at yourself moments ago”, I spoke in concern, “and your reaction to Airs words…”

Alphas face contorted in pain… Verifying my initial thoughts…

“It’s… nothing!”, the fiery demon managed to get out between gritted teeth…

“It’s not nothing, Alpha! I’m seriously worried about you…”, I babbled, “I need to understand… That’s the least… Why did Airs words hurt you so much?”

The torn demon’s hands shot up attempting to tear his hair out…

“Alpha, please”, I begged, “I want to understand you… And help you…”

“Re… really?”

“Alpha, I really want to help you!”

Alpha sighed deeply: “I… can’t… tell… you…”

“I only want to help… I won’t tell anybody!”, a determined me spoke, “my lips will remain seal…”

“No, no!”, the demon interrupted me, “I… I… want… you… to… to… know… Un… understand… me… But… wi… with… my… shitty… Swedish… It… will… take… ages… And… I… I… don’t… know… the… right… words…”

“I will understa…”

“No, you… won’t… But… I… could… show… you…”

I nodded my head… Seconds later, the fiery demon stepped forward and raised his hands to touch my temples… His face came closer and closer until only centimeters parted us… He then spoke quietly: “P… Please, close… your… eyes…”

I obey… When I opened them again, I found myself on a barren plain… The sand under my feet appeared to be red… Like it had been stained with blood… Only a few sear skeletons of trees were in sight… Far in the back, I could barely see the silhouette of a large city… The sky above me was black… 

A few meters ahead, a movement caught my eyes… A younger Alpha, who appeared to be in his teenage years, was dragged towards the black opening of a massive cave by a giant of a guise whose entire body was obscured by several layers of an enchanted magic black lightweight fabric that seemed to be floating through the air… 

This must be hell… I must have entered one of Alphas memories… It somehow reminded me of the mental connections I had shared with Omega and Air… Although this connection seemed to be a lot weaker and less clear… It was almost like watching an old movie on an even older television… Everything was so granulative… 

I followed the trail in the sand that was caused by the demon’s feet… The two in front of me didn’t seem to take notice of me… The closer we got to the cave, the louder the infernal screams emerging from within got and I wondered where this memory would lead me… And if it had been a good idea to see whatever would come… But there was no way back now… 

I followed the two… The guise was walking with big strides… I had to run to keep up… Leaving me no time to thoroughly inspect the inside of the cave… Only that it was massive and reminded me of a labyrinth… The deeper we got in the ground, the stronger the smell of sulphur got… The explanation soon followed… Once we rounded a corner, I found myself in a massive underground mine with thousands and thousands of demons mining the very substance… Their screams echoed through the mine…

But the guise passed them without a single word and simply got deeper in the ground… Endless deserted black tunnels later, the guise finally stopped in front of a massive ebon door.

“Stand, Alpha!”, the guise hissed… 

“Ye… yes!”, the young demon replied with a shivering voice, got on his feet and straightened himself… For whatever reason, I could understand the both of them…

“Alpha”, the guise began, “you know why you’re here, right?”

“Na… no, ma… madam”, the demon spoke nervously… Maybe this was the judge…

“Alpha, I told you a million times to behave yourself… I know that it must be hard for you to live in the shadow of your twin brother… With him being the almighty ‘Demon King’… The one who gets regular visits from the Prince of Hell himself… The one demon everyone knows and treats with respect in its purest form… And you playing only the second fiddle doesn’t make it any easi…”

“I don’t have a problem with that!”, the fiery demon protested…

“Don’t interrupt me!”, the guise hissed making Alpha jump, “I know that it doesn’t bother you much and that nothing in the world would make you want to trade places with him… You know how much he suffers from all the power he has to shoulder and keep under control… But I was on to something else… Alpha, your special status as his twin doesn’t give you a free ride… Like all demons in hell, you are expected to behave yourself! Just because you think you are special, you cannot ignore every rule… How many times have I caught you and told you to behave? But breaking in the Devil’s personal harem and screwing around with his favorites just reached another level of your misbehavior! Have you any idea how long it took me and your brother to convince him to spare you from annihilation?”

The fiery demon remained quiet and stared at his toes…

“Yeah, you don’t! Alpha, you should be glad to be alive! Glad to have lived as long as you do now… Glad to be standing here… Sometimes I wish I had done the same with you as with everyone else who is born like you… Weak!”, the guise spoke in rage, “that’s why you’re here! To see how someone like you is normally treated… Maybe you’ll appreciate life a bit more afterwards and behave yourself… Come!”

The guise grabbed Alpha by the arm and dragged him through the door that had magically swung open… What lay behind vaguely reminded me of a delivery suite… We passed room after room filled with cribs of sleeping baby demons and nurses watching over them… 

“These are the perfect ones I created, Alpha”, the guise explained while pointing towards said rooms, “but as you can imagine, not all are that way…”

With that, the guise pushed open the door at the end of the corridor... I followed the two into a massive octagonal room… Every side of the room led to a small chamber… Massive glass panels allowed us to see inside… I followed Alpha and thus stepped closer to the next panel… A figure completely dressed in black robes was lifting a baby demon with obviously crippled limbs out of his crib and placing it on a small altar… The baby was crying… But the soundproof walls ensured that no sound was reaching the outside… The black guise then lifted his arms… Seconds later, black smoke seemed to be emerging from the torso of the infant… Slowly spreading over his body… The baby seemed to be withering away… Falling into ruin… Until there as nothing left… 

The young Alpha next to me had watched the scene in shock as the black guise inside grabbed the next baby, this time with a massive cleft lip, and placed it on the alter repeating the process… Over and over again…

“They… they’re killing… them”, Alpha whispered in shock…

“Yeah, they’re killing them”, the guise said calmly, “all those who are weak… Physical or mental damages… Weak creations… Weak connections between the different substances… Unstable compounds of sulphur, the specific element and the soul… Well, we’re not really killing them… Only dissolving the connection and freeing the soul until the perfectly stable creation is found in a constant circle of annihilation and rebirth… Alpha, you should have been among them!”

“No, I’m fine!”, the demon protested.

“You’re weak! You heal slower, your tolerance concerning many things is a lot lower than any of the other demons and most important: Your mind is sick! You cannot behave yourself properly! Your mind is plagued with dirty and inappropriate thoughts! Let alone your sick fantasies! Under any given circumstances, you should have shared their fate, Alpha!”, the guise said while pointing towards the extermination chambers, “but I spared you because of the extraordinary circumstances of your birth… Sometimes I wish I hadn’t… I hope seeing this will make you realize just how lucky you are… I hope you know your way out!”

With that, the guise turned around and left… Leaving behind a broken Alpha who was wordlessly staring inside the chamber tears running down his face… 

Then, everything went black… 

The blackness slowly turned into a room I only knew too well… Alphas room inside the mansion… A very explicit scene in Alphas room… And a very recent one… It could only have happened last night… Earth was standing in a corner and watched as Alpha received one lash after another… The way Linton was swinging the whip was brutal… But what was odd about that scene was the absence of sound… 

But then, I heard something… It could only have been Alphas thoughts that I was listening to… The way his line of thoughts explained why he needed this sort of treatment… Because he felt worthless… Not because of his brother… But because of his creator… Because of what the Judge had told him… Because of the lacking creation he, Alpha, embodied… The way every second of his life was against the rules of hell… Every second of his life a sin… A sin, that deserved to be punished… That needed to be punished… His salvation… He should have been dead…

I didn’t even realize when we turned to the here and now… Alphas eyes in front of me were red and watery… Streams of tears running down his face: “I’m… weak… I… don’t… deserve… to… exist… I… need… to… suffer… I’m… a… sick… fuck…”

I simply couldn’t stand the sight of Alpha crying… I embraced him: “Alpha, you’re not sick! And most certainly deserve to live! I totally understand you but…”

“Really?”, the usually so fiery demon sniffled.

I simply started to babble: “Yeah! I mean everybody has their specific needs and preferences… And after the scenes you just showed me… I comprehend your motives… But you are not weak! Not worthless! You are special! It’s not your fault how you were born! But you made the best out of it… With all your kinks, hearty personality and your lust… That’s what makes you special… Not being the perfect replica of someone who already existed… I don’t care what the judge thinks about you… And if you get your fix from such practices you should definitely not suppress your desires… Well, as long as you don’t harm yourself too much… It’s not a sin to live!”

“Re… Really?”, the demon repeated.

“Yes!”, I tried to say with as much energy as I could, “I won’t judge you for your needs… Won’t laugh… Or see you in a bad light… Because I accept you the way you are… You’re a great guy… Though a bit weird from time to time… Edgy… But that what’s makes you loveable… Special… And why I love you, Alpha!”

“So… So you… don’t… think… I’m… a… sick… fuck? Worthless?”

“No!”, I said with as much emphasis as I could, “that’s just the way you are! And let me assure you, Alpha, I love you the way you are!”

After a while, Alpha broke the embrace and looked at me with red eyes… But the crying had stopped: “Thank… you… for… your… kind… word, Papa!”

“That’s the least I could do!”

“But… e… exactly… what… I… needed!”, Alpha said quietly, “I’ve… never… shared… that… with… anyone… Nobody… has… has… ever… seen… what… you… just… saw…”

“Thanks for your trust! Well, let me assure you: I care about you no matter your alleged weaknesses! The Judge is wrong! You’re perfect the way you are! I hope we’re clear now”, I smiled warmly…

But the way Alpha looked at me and the way he was biting his lips signalized me that he was not done yet: “Alpha, is there anything else?”

“Please, don’t… tell… the… others… and… especially… not… Linton!”

“My lips will remain sealed! It’s our secret! I promise!”

“Okay… They… know… a… bit… but… not… ev… everything… Especially… not… about… that… scene… in… hell… No one… is… su… supposed… to… know…”, the demon said quietly… But still didn’t relax…

“Anything else, Alpha?”

The fiery demon looked nervously at his own feet that were equally nervously moving on the ground...

“Alpha?”

The demon inhaled sharply and spoke very quickly: “Ca… can you… treat… me… like… that?”

“What?”, I wasn’t really sure if I had understood him correctly…

“Can you… hit me… Whip me… Hurt me... Treat me… the… way… I’m… supposed… to… be… treated… Not… because… of… my… birth… but… because… I… want… it…”, the demon pleaded.

I gulped: “Alpha… I’m not sure if I can…”

“Please!”

“I… I don’t know… if I’m… into stuff… like that…”, I stuttered, “and… more… importantly… I don’t… know… if I can hurt you…”

“Please!”, the demon repeated, again with a pleading undertone that was too obvious to ignore…

“Alpha”, I said quietly, “I really don’t know if I can stomach stuff like that… I mean hurting you for real is something else than tolerating and understanding your needs and desires…”

The demon still looked at me with his ice-cold beseeching eyes…

I sighed: “Alpha… I… I really don’t know if I can… But I will try though… That’s the only thing I can promise you… I will try…”

The eyes of the demon suddenly sparkled… The fire inside had returned and washed away the sadness and embarrassment: “When?”

What had I agreed to: “Calm down, Alpha! Not now!”

The whole stature of the demon seemed to deflate in disappointment…

“Alpha, this is not the end of the world!”, I tried to cheer him up, “after our little date with the Judge I will try it for sure! But after the scene you showed me, I think it’s better to wait ‘til we’ve met her… And you heard the others… No more injuries before that… But afterwards we’re free to do whatever you want… I promise!”

Fractions of a second later, I was caught in a fierce embrace and I felt hot lips crashing down onto mine… I heard a loud shriek and from the corners of my eyes I saw the parrot taking off… Somehow I had the feeling that the bird had something against any sort of sexual activities… Well, I couldn’t blame the bird… I was brought out of my thoughts when my back collided with the worktop of the kitchen… But I didn’t care… My whole attention was focused on the two delicate tips of Alphas forked tongue that caressed my own… The hands that slid under my shirt to play with the jewelry of my sensitive nipples and the way he thrusted his hips against me…

Our lips parted… I could feel his hot breath on my neck: “Papa, you… made me… really happy! For real! I… have… never… shown… this… to… anyone… And… that… you… agreed…. I can… wait… I… can be… patient… But now… I will… make… you happy!”

He continued to thrust against me… The touch of his fingers intensified… Our lips together again… His body getting hotter by the second… I had never seen this active and dominant side of the usually so submissive demon… But it was hot to see and more importantly feel him like that… Feeling his hot muscular body grinding against mine… Feeling the warmth… The heat… His fingers working on the buttons of my pants…


	51. Intruder...

Someone cleared his throat… 

“What?”, an annoyed Alpha spoke rather angrily, “sneaky… bastard…” He then continued in the demonic language…

“I have no intention to join you”, Omega smiled widely, “I just wanted to inform you that we have an intruder again… Somebody is trying to break in… Get their feet on the property… I thought you might want to know… Whoever it is didn’t get past the increased security arrangements… I really must congratulate Earth for working on the hedges… He was the one who felt it first… Well, you can continue whatever you were doing if you want… I’m going to see that little bastard… He’s still fixed by the hedges… It’s your decision!”

I looked at Alpha… The fiery demon only shrugged his shoulders: “Papa, you… decide!”

My fingers left his hot body to button my pants: “Let’s continue afterwards!”

We, well, Alpha had meanwhile dressed himself completely, followed Omega down the stairs in the big entrance hall where we joined the remaining two demons who seemed to be in an eager conversation…But stopped when they saw us… 

“What took you so long?”, Water asked, “what if he escaped?”

“Don’t worry, Water! Some of us were rather busy…”, Omega smiled, “I sense him…. The intruder is still here! Thanks to Earths wonderful hedges! Seems like the work of the last few days really paid off, Earth!”

The smallest demon smiled mischievously upon hearing that compliment…

“Brothers, let’s dress up and get him!”

Fractions of a second later, the demons were fully masked and walking towards the maze in the backyard of the mansion… I had to run to keep track… We passed the maze… My heart was pounding heavily and sweat running down my spine when the demons finally stopped…

The scene in front of me vaguely reminded me of that second Harry Potter movie… The one in which that turquoise Ford Anglia crashed into the Weeping Willow… Only that the thick branches of a big part of the hedges that surrounded the property seemed to be scourging violently through the air instead of a single tree… 

Wait… Didn’t we watch that movie together a few weeks ago… I should be more careful with the selection of entertainment if I didn’t want to see Alpha with all his heat and fire replicating Mordor, Omega building a Death Star or Earth turning this planet into fucking Pandora… Or the worst of them all: Water recreating that horrible Kevin Costner movie… Waterworld… 

At least the demons had stopped in considerable distance to the hedges… The heads of the demons moved in unison… And now I realized why… They were mimicking the movements of one of the thicker branches… The branch that had caught the screaming intruder and now viciously hurled him through the air…

Without moving his eyes away from the spectacle, Omega padded Earths shoulder and spoke proudly: “Great job, Earth! This surpasses everything I could have imagined!”

“I agree!”, Water spoke with eyes glued on the vicious plant, “this is soooo cool! You must tell me what you did with the hedges!”

“If… I… would… be… in… that…p… position, I… would… probably… puke… all over… the… place!”, Alpha said dryly…

I managed to get my eyes away from the spectacle: “Alpha, I agree with you 100 percent! Please, make that thing stop! That’s worse than anything at the fair… Any roller-coaster or thrill ride…”

Omegas eyes finally moved away from the hedges: “Papa is right… Earth, please make that thing stop! I hope you thought about a way…”

“Of… course… I… did!”, the smallest demon spoke in his broken Swedish…

Omega looked at me: “Before we do that, I must warn you, Papa!”

“Why?”

“Papa, this intruder is a vampire…”

“A vampire?”, I spoke in disbelief, “I thought that’s a fantasy product…”

“Well, demons are real”, Omega began, “so are many of the other creatures you’ve heard about and consider to be fantasy… They all just stay away from society… It’s better that way… But they exist… Not many… At least not back in the day… But they all exist… Vampires, demons, witches, zombies, ice people, necromancers, shapeshifters, werewolves, mermai…”

“Omega, stop!”, I interrupted the demon, “you can tell me later, but please make that thing stop… it looks horrible!”

Omega shrugged his shoulder: “Okay, okay! Earth will make it stop and I will interrogate the intruder… But you stay back with Alpha and Water! We don’t know how this creature is going to react since we don’t know it and you’re the only human amongst us… Do you promise to stay back?”

I nodded my head and stayed where I was with my two guardians while Omega and Earth stepped forward… Slowly getting closer to the vicious hedges… Luckily, the branches moved past them… Missing them by the slightest… Earth kneeled down and placed his hands on the green in front of him… Between all the screaming from the intruder, I was able to extract something so utterly beautiful… Yet I couldn’t gasp it…

“Water, what is that?”

“It’s Earth singing to the plants… Telling them to calm down…”

“Do you understand him?”

“No, no one does… Only the ones of his element… But I’ve heard him often enough to know what he’s doing… At least vaguely…”

“What do you think about the vampire? Have you ever met one before?”

“No!”, Alpha answered in his broken Swedish, “we… ha… hadn’t much… contact… with… other… spe… species… Only… with… the… ice people… To… trade… a… bit…”

“I’ve always wanted to meet one”, Water said enthusiastically, “they are so interesting… You know with the blood sucking, all the allergies, you know with not being able to stomach any real food or walking in sunlight, and sleeping in coffins… I have so many questions… If the rumors are true…”

Interesting approach for someone who needed to consume human carcasses to stay alive…

“Does it always take that long to calm down hedges?”

“They seem to be quite stubborn”, Water said, “and I think they’re having a ton of fun!”

I made a mental note to stay away from these things as far as possible… And to talk to Earth about these hedges… I preferred an insulting parrot over these vicious plants a million times… 

After some time, the hedges finally seemed to be slowing down… At least a bit… Suddenly, the big branch holding the intruder came to an abrupt stop… Leaving the intruder hanging upside down a few meters in front of Earth and Omega…

The skin of the vampire was shining bright in the night… He was pale… very pale… Large yet very skinny… With ginger hair… Wearing Adidas sneakers, probably he Samba model, skinny dark jeans, a black V-neck shirt, enabling us to see the prominent bones peeking through his pale flesh, and on top a leather jacket… Kind of reminded me of a hipster… A hipster who appeared to be almost starved to death…

The intruder nervously waved at the two demons in front of him: “Thank you… for… making that thing stop! I appreciate it…”

But Omega interrupted him: “Vampire, why are you here?”

The seemingly slightly confused intruder scratched his head: “Oh… you already know what I am… Ehh… I wanted to visit Linton… We’re friends… And I got to his… apartment… and it was empty… I texted him… Well, and he sent me an invitation to this address…”

“He messaged you our address?”, Omega asked in disbelief…

“Yeah… it’s called telecommunication…”

“I know what that is”, a slightly annoyed Omega said, “give me your phone… Now!”

The vampire began to rummage his pockets: “I don’t know if it’s still there… After what the hedges did…”

“It’s there!”, Omega said while shaking his head over the clumsiness of the vampire, “let me help you!”

And I thought I was clumsy…

Fractions of a second later, Omegas rings were shining in a bright light… His right hand shot up fairly quickly to catch the phone that had flown out of one of the intruder’s pocket…

“Thanks”, the vampire spoke, “the code is… Well, never mind…”

Omega had already unlocked the phone and probably was scanning through the intruder’s messages… After a few seconds, Omega turned around: “Linton really messaged him our address… Did any of you know anything about this?”

The three of us shock their heads in unison…

“Seems like we need to increase the security precautions again… I deleted the message”, Omega sighed, “vampire, you say you know Linton?”

“We reach a long way back… Met at the turn of the century… Sir, I only wanted to visit…”

“Before you tell me your life story, I suggest we do it the fast way”, Omega suggested impatiently, “let me check your motives and if you’re clear, I’ll let you down and you can tell us as much as you want… A short scan of your mind should be enough… I won’t dive too much into your private life… We just hate unannounced visitors… Vampire, what do you say?”

The vampire shrugged his boney shoulders: “I’ve nothing to hide…”

The tall bulky demon stepped forward and placed his large hands at the vampire’s temples… The rings started to glow again… Meanwhile, the vampire endured everything without any complaint… He simple stared at the masked demon ahead of him…


	52. Perfect Strangers...

After a while, Omegas hearty slightly raspy chuckled filled the air: “Vampire, I will let you down if you promise not to bite anyone… Although I think that won’t be very likely… Seriously dude… A vampire who’s afraid of blood… Let alone biting anyone? How do you even survive?”

The vampire smiled nervously: “I thought you didn’t want to dive too much into my private life?”

“Sorry, mate! But I had to make sure our human here is safe”, Omega chuckled while pointing towards me, “I apologize… I will let you down though… Earth, tell the hedges to release our guest!”

The tiny demon muttered something to himself but continued to sing to the vicious plants… Omega stepped forward… Just in time to catch the vampire as the hedges released his ankles…

Once Omega had put him on the ground again, the vampire straightened himself and tried to get his clothes back in place again: “Man, you can’t imagine how good it feels to finally have solid ground under your feet again! It would be great though if you could give me my glasses back… Lost them when the hedges were swinging me around and I can’t see shit without them…”

“Of course!”, Omega smiled and his rings began to glow yet again…

“Ahh… That’s a lot better!”, the vampire said while pushing his luckily undamaged glasses back in place…

“So, how do you know Linton?”, Omega asked impatiently.

“Shouldn’t you know that already?”, the vampire said while scratching his head.

“I told you I’d stay away from the private stuff!”

“Okay, okay!”, the vampire said, “well, we met at the turn of the last century… Around 1901 to 1902… Shorty after I had been turned into the fucking blood sucker I am today… The last thing before it happened… I think I was pretty drunk and trying to get back to my people… I used to travel with this theater group… Playing some music to accentuate their performances and singing a bit from time to time… It happened on my day off… We had been staying in Linköping for two or three days... He bit me on my way back from the bar… Probably thought I was disposable because I wasn’t from town… That no one would miss me… He was right with that assumption… But totally messed his part up… Accidentally injected me with his venom… The next thing I know, is that I’m lying in a dark valley with a note that says ‘Sorry for turning into a vampire! Hope you will do alright!’…”

“Really?”, Omega chuckled, “this is brilliant! Go on!”

“If you say so”, the vampire said while scratching his head, “ehhh… Where was I? Yes… I was lying in that dark alley and was hungry as hell… Ate an apple and puked all over the place… Then tried it with some salmon… The same… Grilled meat… The same… Raw meat… The same… So I had to go after humans… Bit this old lady… Didn’t puke directly… Only when she was dead… Couldn’t stomach the sight… And the blood on my clothes… That’s when these Christians found me and brought me in this old dungeon… They questioned me how many people I had killed… They didn’t believe me when I told them my story… They were about to impale me with this wooden peck when their attention suddenly turned to their newest capture…”

“Linton!”, I heard Omega whisper…

“Yes!”, the vampire said, “he was giving those Christians a really hard time… Everyone was called to secure him… That’s why they put me in a holding cell and postponed the whole impale-me-with-a-piece-of-wood thing… For hours, I heard the screaming… Like he was a wild animal… I could hear it despite the solid door being locked… After countless hours, the volume of the screaming reached its peak… But now, several voices were screaming… Not just one… Then, everything went silent… I remember that I started to shake… Because I thought I was the one dying next… The silence was just too downright scary… And indeed moments later, the door swung open… But no crazy bloodthirsty Christian… 

The creature that entered looked horrible… Covered in blood emerging from countless cuts of varying depth… But the most horrible thing was the right eye… The spoon was still in there when he entered… A thick white liquid, that used to be his eyeball, mixed with a lot of blood running down his cheek… If I had eaten anything the last few days, I would have vomited for sure… I didn’t move when he ripped the door of my cell open in wild rage… Nor did the guy in the cell next to me… Despite being that severely wounded, the maniac who later introduced himself as Linton, grabbed the both of us and teleported us to this old cave close to the lakes… We took care of him until his wounds had healed enough to carry on… But we stayed toge…”

“Wait, Linton is a lone wolf!”, Omega interrupted the chatty vampire, “he’d always muddle through by himself… Never place his safety in the hands of oth…”

“You’re wrong!”, the vampire said, “he might be a lone wolf, but afterwards the three of us stayed together… Not all of the time… But we remained close… Checked on each other… But we never got in touch with ‘The Society’… Always remained by ourselv…”

“Stop!”, Omega said, “first of all: who is we… and second: what is ‘The Society’?”

“Our little group consists of Linton, myself and the other guy Linton rescued… Well, he’s a zombie… Works part-time in a hospital now and supplies me with all the blood I need… Ehhh… And later, this ancient witch and her lover and his brother joined us… Both black wizards…”, the vampire babbled, “and you really don’t know anything about ‘The Society’?”

“No!”, Omega said emphatically, “I don’t know how much Linton has told you but…”

“You guys were locked away the last sixteen decades”, the vampire smiled, “he told us a lot… How much he missed you… Was searching for hints of you all the time… I bet he’s happy to have you back…”

“Indeed!”, Water said quietly yet dryly making me snicker while a nervous Alpha began to fumble with his shirt…

“…anyway, ‘The Society’ is this, well, they’re thinking they’re this exquisite, ‘secret’ parallel society of supernatural creatures in Scandinavia… They have their own network… Their own little quarters, administration and leaders… But we stay away from them… They’re young and foolish… Too overtly other to be secret... To stay underground… Off the radar… They haven’t experienced the old days… Most of them were born, created or whatever after the Wars… After the church had lost its power, their number exploded… Nowadays, there are more than 300 in Stockholm alone… It’s just too many… One day, they will get exposed if they continue like this… They know nothing… Nothing of secrecy, resistance and fighting… Or how to behave themselves to avoid exposure… That’s why the six of us stay away from them… I hope you will do the same…”

“This is all new to us”, Omega replied, “we just got back… Right now, we’re catching up on the things we missed… Trying to find our place… Well, we can talk more inside… I have the feeling that you’ll stick around for longer… You know the music industry, don’t you?”

“I produce and mix a lot… And occasionally write stuff myself”, the vampire said, “why are you asking?”

“We could need you for the things we have in mind… Trying to start the world’s first ever demonic rock band…”

“I’m on board!”, the vampire said without further consideration, “to your service!”

He then stepped forward and offered Omega his boney hand: “Niels Nielsen! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

“What a shitty name!”, Water commented next to me…

“I’m Omega!”, the tall bulky demon introduced himself, “let’s meet…”

“Ohhhh! You’re the almighty Omega! The one who has the power to reshape time and space! The godlike Devil’s favouri…”

“I prefer just Omega!”, the tall bulky demon spoke with an annoyed undertone, “Linton obviously gossiped too much! I’m nothing special… Well, this is Earth! His hedges so kindly welcomed you…”

He then grabbed Niels be the shoulder and led him towards us before Earth could pull off any prank: “This is Water, Papa, the guy who freed us from that hidden church in the woods… Well, he is no food…”

The vampire and I shook hands… His hand was ice cold… At close range, he looked even paler… Through the glasses, I stared into his dark hazel eyes… Somehow, he looked familiar… But I didn’t know from where… And before my mind could come up with anything, Omega continued: “And this is Alpha!”

The vampire and the kinky demon shook hands… 

“Ahhh… I’ve heard much about you…”, the vampire spoke… Somehow, I immediately knew what kind of things Linton had told him… And so knew Alpha… The fiery demon turned red… Very red underneath his mask… 

Omega tried to safe the situation: “Let me show you your room… We have a few spare guest rooms on the ground level… If you follow me…”

I had the feeling that Omega really liked and trusted the vampire… That he wasn’t dangerous… Otherwise he wouldn’t have invited him to stay that quickly and instead have screwed with his brain to the point that the intruder wouldn’t have remembered anything… Or even who and what he was…

But the vampire didn’t move: “Where is Linton?”


	53. The Fox...

“Talking with his father… Inside the mansion…”

“Ohhhh… Yes… Linton told me about him… Isn’t he called Wind or Storm or something like…”

“His name is Air!”, Omega said quickly, “don’t ever call him any of the other names! He absolutely hates that and will tell you that he isn’t just named after a simple air pressure gradient… Sounds complicated but he will tell you that the element air is simply so much more than any ordinary wind…”

Niels shrugged his boney shoulders: “If you say so… I don’t want to offend anybody…”

Omega smiled: “Let’s go!”

While the tall bulky demon went ahead with an eagerly talking Earth on his heels, the vampire hesitated for a moment until Water grabbed his arm: “Come on! You will like it! Would you mind answering some questions? I always wanted to meet a real vampire!”

While the two set off, I looked at Alpha who only shrugged his shoulders: “Water… Ehh… He’s… always… been… drawn… to… the… supernatural!”

I merely nodded my head and the two of us followed the unusually chatty interrogator and his target…

“Can you transform yourself into a bat?”

“Sadly no…”

“Do you have wings then?”

“No!”

“Do you die in the sunlight?”

“No… although I need a lot of sunscreen because of my pale skin type… But I can walk around at daylight… And I don’t sparkle!”

“Do you sleep in coffins?”, Water asked eagerly.

“Hell no!”, Niels said while shaking his head, “I’ve got claustrophobia… I’d only panic in one of these damned boxes…”

“Really?”, the demon asked with a raised eyebrow…

Niels sighed: “I know I’ve got issues… I’m probably the least vampiric vampire you’ll ever come across… But I never asked to be turned into one…”

“You’re cool!”, Water smiled, “and very interesting! I really appreciate your honesty and enduring all my questions!”

“You’re welco…”

“Where are your fangs?”

“Neatly tucked away ‘til my next feast!”

“What about that silver allergy?”

“Only a myth…”

“And crosses and churches?”

“Can’t stand both!”

“Me neither!”, Water smiled, “what about human food?”

“Makes me sick! No matter what… I can drink any sort of alcohol and coffee though…”

“How do you hide that when you’re amongst normal people?”

“Well, I used to tell everyone that I’m a vegan… That usually made people shut up and leave me alone… But this whole veganism thing has turned into this new hip lifestyle… More and more vegan options and the fact that people know more about it nowadays make it a pain in the ass to stay away from food… I’m almost at the point to masquerade myself as a fruitarian… Can you eat normal food?”

“Of course! Nothing’s better except delicious carcasses!”

“Disgusting!”

Water only shrugged his shoulders: “If you say so… I love it! Tell me about this garlic thing! Is it really true that I can shield myself from you with that stuff?”

This time, Niels laughed heartily: “This one is just sooooo wrong! I honestly don’t know how all this false information reached the common understanding of our kind…” 

“Maybe someone spread it on purpose?”, Water suggested.

“Could be!”, Niels laughed…

“So, what about that garlic?”

“The simple answer: Vampires love it! We love the smell! With foods, it’s a little bit tricky… We can smell it but can’t stomach it since it makes us sick… It’s a pain in the ass to watch somebody eating something… Especially if it smells fucking delicious… And the smell of garlic is just so intense… Reminds me of so many things… Sometimes, I buy myself a bulb of garlic and sit there for hours… Simply getting lost in the scent! Better than any drug!”

“Hey, Alpha!”, I said while elbowing the demon next to me, who had just like me been listening to the conversation ahead of us, “I think I know the perfect birthday gift for this guy!”

“Probably… a… very… tiny… coffin!”, Alpha snickered, “what… about… me?”

I shrugged my shoulders: “50 lashes?”

Alpha gently smacked my ass: “I’d… take… that… any… day! Especially… from… you!”

Alpha and I continued our dirty talk until we got back to the mansion… Once inside, the vampire stared around in wonder: “This is gorgeous! Simply magnificent! Grant architecture! So gothic yet cozy at the same time… And you built this all by yourself?”

“Yeah!”, Omega said proudly, “come! You’ll have enough time to thoroughly inspect St. Lucifer… Let me show you your room…”

He then grabbed the mesmerized vampire and led him towards the guest wing: “Papa, we’ll join you in a little while!”

“We’ll be in the studio!”, I yelled after them before they disappeared behind a bending…

“Isn’t it great?”, Water smiled at me while walking up the stairs, “finally meeting a vampire!”

“But… he… can’t… turn… him… himself… into… a… bat!”, Alpha threw in.

“Yeah!”, Water shrugged his shoulders, “I had higher expectations of his kind… Whatever! At least, he’s funny!”

Earth mumbled something in the demonic language which made both Alpha and Water laugh…

“Yes, Earth! You’re right!”, Water laughed.

“What did he say?”, I asked upon entering the studio.

“That I will probably get to know a few more species I have always wanted to meet in the next few days thanks to our tweeting and messaging half demon!”

While the two demons continued their guessing about future guest species, Alpha and I got drinks for everyone and then settled for a bit of guitar playing… It was a bit weird thought not being able to see the demons faces after all the time I had spent with them unmasked… But necessary because of our guest… He could arrive at every second… But for a long time, nothing happened…

Alpha and I played riff after riff, solo after solo and song after song… With him, it just worked… Much like playing with Omega… Although Omegas style was more sophisticated… Exploring depths of sound that others probably would never explore… Right now, Alpha and I were playing one of Omegas brainchilds… A piece called ‘Dollhouse Decoration’, an instrumental that didn’t need any words… Even Waters and Earths conversation had stopped as they listened in fascination and wonder… I carefully strummed the strings for the last few notes… As did Alpha… Our eyes met as the studio turned quiet… If someone would ever label Omegas music, orgasmic would probably be the right word…

The silence was broken by loud clapping… Alphas and my head shot around to the source of the noise… Niels, the vampire, was standing in the doorframe… Tears in his eyes: “That’s the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! Whoever wrote this, is a fucking genius!”

Behind him, an unmasked Omega smiled… Wait… Unmasked?!?

“I’m definitively not walking around masked in my own home!”, Omega replied my disbelieving gaze while entering the studio and taking a sip from the next best bottle of booze, “I spoke with Niels here and thanks to Linton’s impressive gossiping urge to spread everything about us, he knows most of the stuff about us anyway… And being in a similar situation to ourselves will most likely stop him from spreading anything…”

“Well, you don’t look that different…”, the vampire began.

But Omega interrupted him: “You haven’t seen the other ones yet!”

“I don’t care if they should look any less human”, Niels said while his eyes scanned the room, “this is a goddamn fine record studio… Great selection of very nice instruments that probably have cost a fortune… Exquisite technology… Amazing atmosphere… Simply perfect! It will be a pleasure to work here! And if even the smallest percentage of the music turns out the way that song you just played for me did, I’ll be the happiest motherfucker on the planet!”

A few hours later, well, it was very late, Omega, Niels and I were sitting over a song… The remaining demons were scattered around the studio deep asleep… The vampire looked up: “We need something… A proper concept, to lift these songs to another level… Ever thought about a proper frame for these?”

The answer was a loud yawn from me…

“We should probably talk about this another day!”, Niels suggested, “you look tired!”

I stared at him… Our eyes locked… His suggestion sounded like a good idea… But I was too tired to think about it now at 4:30 in the morning…

But then a thought struck my mind and my mouth began to work on its own: “Have we met before?”

The eyes of the vampire narrowed to slits: “I’ve been thinking the same ever since I first saw you!”

“You know each other?”, Omega asked in surprise while finally dissolving the attention from his guitar…

“But from where?”, Niels asked out loudly…

“I don’t know!”

The vampire turned his head slightly to scratch it: “Mhhh… Usually I remember stuff like that… The fact that I’ve forgotten means that it must have occurred a longer time ago… Do you play golf?”

“No!”

“Well, I do... Did you ever set a foot in the music industry before?”

“Mhhh…”, I mumbled quietly having preferred to not think about my aborted attempts to make a living out of my music, “long ago…”

“But you didn’t use your real name… You used a moniker… Right?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ve got it!”, Niels exclaimed euphorically making the previously heavily snoring Alpha shooting up from the couch, “you’re Mary fucking Goore! Where the hell have you been all those years?”

“How do we know each other?”

“I facilitated your first record label contract… Back in the beginning of your band… But we never met in person… At least not officially… I only talked to you after one of your first gigs in this small basement club in Norrköping… But never properly introduced myself… Said I was a fan… Helped a lot of bands getting started back then… Later shifted my focus on mixing, production and my own songwriting instead of managing and mediating though…”

I couldn’t believe it: “You’re the ‘Fox’?!?”


	54. Guilt and Greed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me over this short chapter...

“Correct!”, Niels smiled, “although this moniker in retrospect was a terrible name choice… But I seem to be blessed with horrible names anyway… But what happened to your band? Repugnant seemed to be doing well… Great songwriting… Amazing blend of Death and Thrash…”

I looked at my feet… Having preferred to not have opened that can of worms… 

“Well”, the vampire continued, “I met a few of your ex-bandmates over the years and no one wanted to talk about it…”

For a good reason though… I myself never talked about it and tried to forget what had happened years ago… Still feeling ashamed of myself… 

“What happened?”, Niels poked… 

I sighed: “We were up and coming… I couldn’t handle the situation… Greed and the prospect of fame and money had blinded me… I embezzled all the money, well, it was not much, we got from the gigs and the label and invested it in the band and worse, used it for my own purposes instead of sharing the profits with my friends and colleagues… Eventually, they found out… It was pretty nasty… And I wish I hadn’t done the things I’ve done… Every day of my life, I regret it… Because of my stupidity, greed, unspeakable behavior or whatever you might call it, I lost some of my best friends… Only later when everything was over, it dawned on me what I had done… I decided to seclude myself from the scene… At least for a while… Months turned into years… And still haven’t returned…”

“You will return!”, Niels finally said, “I know it… These songs are fantastic… I hope you have learnt your lesson… Thank you for finally telling the truth…”

“Yeah, you will!”, Omega twinkled, “hopefully minus the greed… Hopefully! Let’s drink and try to forget!”


	55. Smashed Tables and a Fresh Wind...

My head was pounding… This unspeakable noise was killing me… This could only be Alpha… And he must be very close… I stretched my sore body and slowly opened my eyes… Jep… Indeed… He was lying underneath me… On the small couch… At least far too small for three grownups since Water had decided to sleep there, too… Tightly clutching my leg… Why was I feeling so shitty…? Then it dawned on me… We had been drinking… A lot… After I had told Omega and Niels about the events I was trying to forget… Wait, where were they?

I scanned the room… Earth had curled himself up on the floor and was peacefully sleeping on a bed of small flowers… I smiled upon spotting Omega… The tall bulky demon was deep asleep while floating midair… His rings faintly glowing… Niels was meanwhile sleeping underneath the ceiling… Some rumors about vampires seemed to be true at last… 

“Dad, look who’s awake!”

My head shot around… Linton was standing in the doorframe… An unmasked Air behind him…

“Good morning!”, I said tiredly…

“You look horrible!”, Linton assessed.

“Drank too much…”

“Here!”, Linton said handing me something against my headache. I freed myself from the two sleeping demons, stood up and took the pill. While I drowned the thing with some water, Linton roughly grabbed Alpha and transferred him to a sleeping position on the floor… The snoring demon didn’t even flinch… He simply stayed asleep… Linton then continued to do the same with Water… Though far gentler… The half-demon then let himself fall on the sofa and signalized me to do the same: “Come, sit down! We need to talk…”

I hesitated.

Linton smiled: “I won’t choke you this time. I promise! Dad and I talked a bit…about you…”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I’m serious!”, Linton emphasized, “I’ll give you a fair chance! You just have to understand that the last Papa was very keen to get rid of me! He tried to drown me… Stupid idea to drown someone who can breathe under water if you ask me… He then tried to sell me to some shady merchants… Locked me in the dungeons and stuff like that… After that one incident, I must have been six or so, when he locked me up in an isolated cave for a week and the Ghouls had to extract the exact location of my whereabouts by force, Alpha kept a very close eye on me when we went to town… That’s why my reaction at our first meeting might have been a bit… negative… upon hearing the word ‘Papa’…”

Reluctantly, I sat myself down next to him…

“Relax!”, Linton said, “the circumstances of my youth were a bit… complicated… And being so long on the run didn’t make it any better… But I will behave myself and hopefully the two of us will get along just fine…”

He offered me his scarred hand… I eyed the hand for a second and the grabbed and shock it: “To a new start!”

Linton smiled at me while repeating the phrase and let go of my hand…

“And now tell me how the Fox got in here!”

I scratched my head: “Well, he got your text message…”

“Did he really?”, Linton asked eagerly.

“Yeah! But that won’t work in the future… Omega adjusted the safety arrangements… No more texting the address of this place…”

“I expected nothing less of our dear Omega!”, Linton smiled, “good that I messaged everyone beforehand… You will meet them sooner or later… I don’t wanna spoil the surprise… So, what about the Fox? What happened after he got the message?”

But I barely heard those last words… As my eyes were glued on the action under the ceiling…

“Dad, you know that that’s creepy?”, Linton said…

Air, who was floating in the air, was staring at the sleeping vampire and thoroughly examining every inch of his pale flesh and his ginger hair… That itself wasn’t that creepy… But the distance between the large demon and the sleeping vampire certainly was as only a few centimeters parted them… Air only shrugged his shoulders, his forked tail casually waving behind him, and continued…

Linton shook his head: “I hope Niels won’t wake up… Dad would certain scare the shit out of him… Whatever… What happened after he got that message?”

I tried to remember everything Niels had told us last night as good as possible: “Well, he already was looking for you… But your apartment was empty… When he got the message, he tried to get here as quickly as possible… But it took a while since he had to use public transportation…”

Linton laughed heartily: “He should have gotten that driver’s license when he had the possibility to get one… I’m so glad I bribed that Russian guy…”

Once Linton had stopped, I continued: “He then tried to get on the property but was caught by Earths vicious hedges and hurled through the air for quite some time ‘til we got there… Earth stopped the plants and Omega scanned his brain…”

“What a lovely welcoming!”, Linton snickered, “I’m surprised he agreed to spend the night here… Usually, he is such a coward and…”

“Well, he and Omega talked a bit and the ice was broken… Melted completely once he saw the record studio and heard the music we’ve been writing… And then, the drinking began…”

Linton smiled: “I always knew he and Omega would get along… And music always gets the Fox going… It’s like giving Alpha puppies, bribing Air with books, offering Earth some plants… Well, what could I give Water… Never mind… You know what I mean…”

“Not your presence!”, Water said dryly without opening his eyes…

“Did we wake you up?”, Linton asked.

“No, Lemmy fucking Killmister himself did that with his Rickenbacker!”, Water snorted and sat up, “I’m surprised you haven’t waken Omega up!”

“I have been awake ever since you opened that door”, the tall bulky demon chuckled, “you’ve got a nice friend, Linton! That vampire has a great ear for music! If the rest of your friends turn out halfway as decent, I will overlook that you texted our address without our consent…”

“And what if they shouldn’t?”

A wicked smile appeared on Omegas face: “I could either lock Alpha away or mess a bit with your brain to the point that you beg me to treat you the way you usually treat Alpha… And I would do just that!”

“You wouldn’t!”, Linton protested, “you would never…”

“Don’t underestimate me! Alpha has been begging me to hurt him for the last 160 years and you know perfectly well how annoying he can become… So, I fulfilled his dreams! At least partially… I would totally treat you like that!”

“Good for me that my friends are cool”, Linton retorted… Though quietly.

Where had I ended up? Sex talk in the morning, plenty of actual sex and a lots of alcohol… 

“Have you and Air finished your talk?”, Omega interrupted my thinking.

“No!”, Airs deep voice echoed through my head, “Linton and I will continue after breakfast!”

Linton sighed audibly upon hearing that but remained quiet… Seems like he was at least respecting Omega and his father… 

The silence was cut by a loud scream followed by an even louder crashing noise… All heads in the room, even Earths and Alphas, who up to this point had been deep asleep, shot around to the source of the noise… From the corners of my eyes, I saw a body falling… Crashing through a table before slamming hard on the ground… Nobody moved…

“Are you okay?”, Omega finally asked…

“I think so”, the vampire said while scratching his head, “but you…” He pointed angrily towards Air who was still floating in midair… “…just scared the shit out of me! That was one of the worst waking ups I ever had!”

Air only shrugged his shoulders and a deep voice echoed through my head: “I only poked him!”

The upset vampire looked up at him: “And you have nothing to say about that?”

Seems like Air hadn’t shared his thoughts with everyone…

“Niels, never mind”, Linton stepped in, “meet my dad! He never talks much and has a tendency to creep other people out!”

“Ohh! Is this Wind?”, the vampire cried out seemingly having forgotten that he just fell from the ceiling…

The addressee didn’t quite look amused: “I’m Air! Not just an ordinary movement of particles between air pressure gradients!”

Several pairs of hands shot up to protect quite a few sensitive ears from Air unusually thunderous voice… Upon lowering his hands, Niels smiled guiltily: “Sorry, I’ve forgotten about that… You’re Air of course! How stupid of me… I must apologize myself…”

The corners of Airs mouth twitched: “Accepted!”

“Dad on the other side apologizes for scaring you like that”, Linton added sarcastically.

“Linton!”

“Dad!”

“Son, we need to talk! Now!”, and with that, the feet of the tall demon touched the ground again. I watched in amusement as Linton got dragged out of the room…

“What was that about?”, Niels asked.

“Oh… They tend to have their dissensions”, Omega explained, “nothing tragic… They always argue… And mentioning one of Airs fake name didn’t make it any bett…”

“That must be my fault”, the vampire sighed.

Omega waved it off: “Don’t worry about that one! Earth and Alpha always use these names when they’re teasing him… I think the turning point definitively was Linton apologizing in his stead… Eventually, they’ll sort it out. Don’t worry about them! It just might take time!”


	56. The Four Horsemen...

And time indeed it took… Almost two days later, none of us had seen any sign of Linton and his father… It was Wednesday night… They were still talking… And I was increasingly getting nervous… Not because of their absence but because Friday 13th was getting closer and closer… Now only two nights away… Less than 48 hours before my dear demons would contact their creator and introduce me to her… The Judge…

Luckily for me, that despite waking in my own cold sweat this morning, being in the studio with Niels and the demons seemed to be taking my mind off Friday night… I had thought working with Omega was intense… Adding Niels to the mix brought things to a whole other level… He had put the final touch on a few of our songs, had improved some where we had no clue how to continue and provided us with a few ideas how to present everything since none of the demons, well except for Water, could enter any public stage without having their faces and bodies covered… Well, I thought that the idea of tight spandex was a bit ridiculous, although Alpha had mentioned that he quite liked it, and entering the stage as Stormtroopers was rather unoriginal and probably copy right infringement on several levels…

But he also brought one other thing to the studio: talk! Lots of talk… While Omega and I had mostly let the music speak for us while not caring too much about the technical aspects of our work, the vampire was very keen on his recording and production business… After countless hours, my head was swirling with different guitar recording techniques and set-ups… And all it had taken to start this discussion was a small knob on an Orange amp… Alpha and Earth had left fairly quickly… Hours later, I wished I had left with them… I had exited the discussion long ago and was staring at the eagerly talking and gesticulating vampire and the unusually chatty Water opposite of him… Omega meanwhile seemed to be deeply focused on his guitar playing in addition to observing their conversation with occasional nods of his head…

I looked outside… It was already dark… Where had the time gone? I pushed my chair back: “I think I’ve got enough of guitar sounds and guitar settings for today… I’m out!”

None of the three seemed to be hearing me… 

I left the actual recording studio and entered the vestibule of our studio… The room that contained all the sofas and where we used to spend a lot of time drinking… One sofa was currently occupied by a sleeping Earth… Alpha stood in front of a window and was studying the sky, a bottle of beer in his hand and Sara the parrot sitting on his shoulders… Upon hearing my feet on the floor, he turned around: “Have… they… finally… finished?”

I only shook my head and stepped to his side… Without another word, he handed me the bottle and I took a large gulp of the cool liquid… 

“That… bad?”, the demon asked.

“Yes, I mean you’ve been in there and it certainly didn’t get any better… I finally had enough of the talk… I should have come with you hours ago…”

Alphas lips twitched to form a smile before turning back to the night sky… 

“Hey, Alpha! What have you been doing all the hours?”

The demon shrugged his shoulders that caused the parrot to slightly loose its balance: “Not much!”

“Come on!”

Icy blue eyes locked with mine: “I… looked… after… Linton… But… the… doors… remain… shut… Talked… to… Earth… after… that… Well… Until… he… fell… asleep… Walked… around… the… house… The… night sky… is… striking… tonight…”

And indeed it was… Had it rained the last couple of days and been rather foggy, the night sky was entirely clear now… Presenting us with all its beauty it had… Millions and millions of little dots sprawled across its vast pitch-black canvas as far as the eye could see… 

“Do you think we’re alone in this universe?”

“No”, a determined Alpha said though quietly, “we’re… not… alone… Omega… always… says… that… He’s… been… to… places… neither… of… us… can… imagine…”

After that, silence filled the room as we both continued to observe the sky in all its glorious beauty… After a while, I felt something warm around my hand… I looked down to find Alphas pulsating heat radiating hand locked with mine… In an entirely positive way, I have to add… We continued our observation… I somehow felt like the nameless narrator and Mara at the end of Fight Club… Only that the fire demon and I were not witnessing events of mass destruction but of nature and stellar beauty… 

Alpha cleared his throat: “Remember… when… you… When.. you… came… after… me… And… you… told… me… how… how… much… worth… I… I… actually… am… When… we… kissed?”

A smile crossed my face: “Like it only happened yesterday and not the day before yesterday!”

“Shame… that… we… were… interrupted…”, Alpha sighed, “such… great… things… could… have… happened!”

“Indeed!”

“We… swore… to… continue… afterwards”, Alphas words were barely a whisper, “but… that… vampire… got… in… the… way!”

“Good that he is rather occupied at the moment and we are alone”, I smirked, “well, if you exclude Earth…”

“Good… for… us… that… he… is… deep… asleep!”

“This time, nothing will disturb us!”

With that, my eyes detached their attention from the night sky and focused on my lovely fiery demon who only smiled mischievously in return showing me his razor-sharp fangs… But I couldn’t care less about that little obstacle… 

Fractions of a second later, he carefully pressed his lips against mine… This time, I didn’t taste any blood nor felt my sensitive skin being cut… He was careful… I sensed that he was holding back… But I wanted more… Wanted it rougher… Deeper… My hands shot up to his temples to pull him closer into the kiss… While my fingers felt the rough ridges of scar tissue on the fire demon’s temples, I deepened the kiss tasting the flavor of rose on my tongue… Heard Alphas lustful moans… 

With an audible sound, Alphas backside crashed against the windowsill… But that didn’t stop us… I felt his fingers under my shirt, while mine were busy brushing through the demon’s bright soft hair… 

“How are your nipples healing?”, I whispered before taking a big nose of the lovely scent of the demon’s hair…

“Great!”, Alpha said playfully, “feel… free… to… check… them… out… yourself…. But… only… after… another… kiss!”

I felt Alphas finger around my head about to pull me back into said kiss… 

“Papa, is… everything… alright?”

I hadn’t moved…

“Papa?”, Alpha repeated…

“Just… look!”, I stuttered in awe, “the sky… it’s ablaze!”

I barely recognized as the demon turned around: “It… really… is… on… fire!”

“Alpha, is that… you?”

“No!”

The both of us remained where we were watching the night sky as it more and more caught on fire with no visible source in sight…

“Alpha, if that’s not you”, I looked down at the tattoos on the demon’s hands who surprisingly where not shining like they usually were when the demon was practicing his ardent magic, “what else is it?”

“I… I… have… no… idea…”, Alpha replied still focusing the fiery spectacle, “not… even… the… slightest!”

“Maybe somebody else does!”

We looked at each other and yelled in unison: “OMEGA!”

Nothing…

We had to repeat ourselves several times… The only reaction was that Earth fell from the sofa… And rather angrily started to argue with Alpha in the demonic tongue before his eyes, too, caught sight of the burning horizon… 

A third voice soon joined in: “OMEGA!”

“WHAT?!?”, it finally echoed out of the studio.

“The… sky… is… on… fire!”, Alpha yelled.

“How funny! Dear brother, have you smoked the wrong stuff yet again?”

“No!”, a screaming me entered the conversation, “you really need to see this!”

“Stop kiddin’ me! You only want me to leave the studio to fuck with you!”

Then, Earth added something in the demonic language… Finally, we heard steps: “If this is just another bad joke, I’m going to…”

But we never learn what he had intended to do with us: “…The sky really is on fire!”

“It’s… not… me!”, Alpha said defensively.

“Earth, I hope you haven’t managed to breed fire-breathing hedges…”

The smallest demon violently shook his head…

“Okay!”, Omega said and closed his eyes, “the fire is not coming from the hedges… It’s concentrated on the hedges…”

“What?”, Alpha exclaimed in confusion.

“Somebody is trying to get on the property”, Omega explained, “again!”

After that, he simply disappeared…

I looked at Alpha: “Where is he?”

“Down… there!”, Alpha pointed towards the lawn ahead of us… A ball of purple energy had surrounded the tall bulky demon as he was walking towards the hedges… Meanwhile, a purple ball of energy was also building itself up in the sky… Shielding the property from whatever was out there…

“What is going on here?”, a voice suddenly asked…

Niels and Water had finally decided to leave the studio…

“Someone is trying to get on the property”, I explained.

“Really?”, the vampire asked.

“Do you, by any chance, know who that could be?”, I asked.

“These are Linton’s friends! It must be them!”, Omegas thunderous voice echoed through the room, “vampire, get your ass down here and tell them to stop!”

Once the voice had faded, Niels only laughed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, for always disrupting Papa and Alpha... We will get there eventually! I promise!


	57. Dead Meat...

“Why… are… you… laughing?”, Alpha asked.

“That won’t be easy!”, Niels explained, “if they’re already bombarding us with flames… Well, they’re probably thinking that Linton and I are in danger and…”

“Why should they think that?”, I threw in.

The vampire shrugged his boney shoulders: “Linton tends to be a bit… cryptic in his messages… I mean, I thought he was gone when I set foot in his deserted apartment and got that message with only the address and nothing else… Now, that I’m gone, too, they might think that the both of us got abducted…”

“GET DOWN HERE! NOW!”, Omegas voice thundered through the room... Making all of us jump…

“But it won’t…”, Niels began…

But Water simply grabbed him and the two of them disappeared… Only to appear fractions of a second later on the grass outside close to the source of the purple light where Omega had stopped on his way to the hedges that were currently under heavy attack… 

“We should go down there, too”, I suggested.

A concerned Alpha eyed me: “Only… Only… if… you… stay… close… to… me!”

“Of course…”

Alpha had already grabbed be before I had actually finished… This time, the demons didn’t even care to mask themselves… The intruders knew about their appearance and their being anyway… It was colder outside than I had expected… The cold breeze hitting me from behind made my hair stand on edge… Meanwhile, the heat from the flames in front of me, was roasting me… Niels was telling Omega everything he had told us earlier… 

Once he had finished, Omega looked at him: “And there really is no way you could stop them?”

The vampire shook his ginger haired head: “Not in the mood they’re currently in…”

“Well, I could always make them stop”, Omega suggested…

“But you’re not killing or hurting them, right?”

“Hopefully not!”, Omega replied, “I’ve got a plan! Step back! First of all, I have to get them off the streets and on the property… We don’t want to alarm any neighbors… So far, I’ve got them all shielded from this fiery spectacle… But it’s better to not overstress that… Earth, I’m terribly sorry but we have to sacrifice a few meters of these wonderful hedges… I’ll help you regrow them later… And now, step back!”

Earth muttered something unintelligible but eventually obeyed… 

We now all watched as Omega lifted his arms, the rings on his fingers shining in a bright light… A small part of the hedges ahead of him lost their purple glance…

“He’s taking down the shield”, Water whispered more to himself than to anybody else, “he’s really letting them in!”

The hedges, that had previously withstood the attack, were soon starting to smoke and eventually caught on fire… 

“This… is… getting… ugly…”, Alpha said and pulled me even further backwards… Making it now very hard to see what was going on since Omega and the expanding purple aura around him blocked our view… 

It dawned on me, why the tall bulky demon had done the things he’d done, once the hedges were burnt through… To focus every bit of attention on himself once the big fireball coming from the outside had disappeared… Fast as a lightning, three of the four intruders, presumably the witch and the two black wizards, flew through the opening of the hedges… They attacked him immediately... Shooting wave after wave of fire and spells on the quintessence ghoul who seemed to be doing nothing but shielding himself…

“What the hell is he doing?”, Niels finally asked…

“I have no idea…”, I began…

“He’s of course encircling them!”, Water interrupted me.

“Stop kidding me!”, the vampire exclaimed.

Water shrugged his shoulders: “Just look at him closely! Omega isn’t just standing there… That purple ball of energy is just there to catch their attention… While our guests are solely focused on that thing, my dear brother is slowly narrowing the loop around them…”

I looked past the intruders who indeed were only focusing on the bait Omega had given them… Meanwhile, faint purple auras were slowly encircling our intruders… Proofing, that the attackers had totally neglected their defenses… Suddenly, the bait simply faded, while the light purple auras contracted around the attackers to form smaller bright purple balls… Fractions of a second later, Omega appeared mid-air in the middle of the three traps he had formed around the intruders…He then floated towards us…

“Are they okay?”, a skeptical Niels asked.

“As long as they’re not hurting themselves, they should be fine”, Omega replied, “but they stay inside until they’ve calmed down… I’ll talk to them lat…”

But he didn’t finish as a loud rather desperate sounding voice interrupted him: “PLEASE! DON’T HURT THEM!”

All heads shot towards the burning hole in the hedges… A tall figure was running towards us… Well, rather limping… 

Niels meanwhile buried his face in his hands: “That’s not good!”

I was just about to ask him what he meant with that, when the fourth intruder stumbled and lost something… His left arm?!?… He stopped and quickly picked up the detached limp and continued to run towards us…

“Have I seen that correctly?”, Water muttered in disbelief.

But before anyone could say anything else, the forth intruder stumbled again and this time lost a leg thus slamming hard on the ground… He quickly sat up, reached towards the second missing limb and went on with what vaguely looked like an attempt to reattach what he had lost…

“What on earth is going on?”, Omega asked.

“He’s a zombie!”, Niels finally explained, “their bodies are rather… fragile… That always happens when he moves too fast…”

“Poor guy!”, Omega said, “I’m giving him a helping hand!”

And indeed, a quick movement of the tall bulky demons ringed hands later, the fallen off limbs made a sudden movement… The zombie looked up from his leg… The astonishment in his face despite the rather big distance quite obvious… He slowly moved his newly attached limbs… Seemingly satisfied with the result, he slowly stood up and looked at us…

“Thank you! So, you’re not killing me?”, he screamed…

“Claudio, we’re fine!”, Niels yelled back, “come over, but slowly, and I’ll explain everything!”

This time, the zombie’s approach towards us was much slower… 

I looked at Niels: “So, if a herd of zombies is after me, I should simply run…”

The vampire smiled: “Yeah, you should! They’ll be busy collecting their bits and pieces! But only if they’re rotten enough! Running doesn’t work too well with freshly created zombies!”

“How do I know?”

“Just smell them!”

“How helpful!”, I snorted, “risk my life to take a nose of zombie and then, surprise, surprise, they’re faster than me!”

The vampire shrugged his boney shoulders: “It’s paradox… I know… But let me assure you, they tend to rot quite quickly…”

I examined the approaching zombie… He was tall… Had long shiny black hair… An impressive yet very neatly trimmed beard and mustache that harmonized well with his kind black eyes… He looked packed… Very muscular… His arms were covered with tattoos… But not just any plain tribal pattern or stupid scribble… The patterns appeared to be very complex, neat and elaborate… Mostly kept in dark colors with a few touches of light and bright shining through…All in all, he appeared the opposite of rotten and old… In fact, his body looked like very well taken care of…

“Niels, if you say that the decay of their bodies is a rather fast process… How comes that…”

“I don’t look like a festered piece of meat?”, the zombie, Claudio, finished my question, “was that what you wanted to know?”

“Yeah…”

“Because I, unlike most of my fellow brainless companions, tend to take care of my body!”, the zombie explained with a proud yet smug expression, “I exercise regularly, only use the best grooming products and only eat the freshest fare…”

“With freshest fare”, Water interrupted him, “do you mean the freshest available carcasses?”

If looks could have killed, Water surely would be dead now: “No! The key to a beneficial diet is a balanced mixture of fresh and healthy human meat and a vitamin-enriched plant based diet…”

“You mean, you as a zombie eat cranberries, seaweed, broccoli and shit like that?”

“Amongst others”, the zombie spat out between gritted teeth…

This obviously wasn’t what Water had imagined… The usually so shy demon turned away in silent laughter… And he surely had a point in that… Meating a Gwyeth Paltrowesque health obsessed vain model type crashed quite heavily with brain slurping half-rotten gory creatures of dead meat and bones… The gory creatures Water had wallpapered his room with… But Water and I weren’t the only ones who were rather amused by this contradiction… 

The zombie on the other side seemed to be boiling internally by the apparent mockery: “These are the creatures Linton talks so highly about?”

“Calm down, Claudio!”, Niels stepped in and put a hand on the zombies boiling shoulders, “this is the first time they’ve ever met one like you… And you have to admit a few things: First, most of your kind are rather brainless and rotten… Second, you’re as atypical as it gets… And third, your health obsession tends to be rather ridiculous if I may be honest! You could easily blog about your life!”

But before the offended zombie could even open his mouth, Niels swiftly continued: “But enough of that… May it be ridiculous or not, beside his health obsession Claudio here works at the hospital and supplies me with all the blood I need… Did you, by any chance, remember to bring some along with you? I think I might be getting hungry soon!”

“Indeed, I did!”, the zombie said without removing his glance from Water and reached behind him for the bag he was shouldering… Seconds later, he handed Niels a stainless-steel bottle: “Only the best for you…”

But a load roaring noise interrupted him…


	58. Open-heart Surgery...

All heads shot towards the three big purple bubbles behind Omega containing the witch and the two black wizards who had so kindly attacked us while trying to get on the property…

“Are they okay?”, Claudio asked nervously…

“They should be”, Omega answered, “two of them, I think the two wizards, just haven’t stopped fighting back… But they can’t hurt themselves… These energy bubbles are as close to a magic padded room as it gets… I’ll talk to them and explain a few things once they’ve calmed down… So far, only the witch seems to be in a state that allows me to reason with her…I’ll give it a try and talk to her! Fingers crossed she won’t try to kill me yet again…”

With that, Omegas feet left the ground and he entered one of the purple bubbles made out of pure energy… Fractions of a second later, he was gone…

With an audible noise, Niels opened the stainless-steel bottle and emptied its content with a few large gulps…

“Ahhhh!”, he sighed while licking his blood-stained lips and two razor-sharp fangs that had magically appeared, “what a splendid drop! Finally, a donator without diabetes! I can’t thank you enough for bringing this with you, Claudio! Now, could you please tell us how you and the magic folk found out about this situation?”

Claudio seemed to think a moment before he began to speak: “Well, I was working when I…”

“Excuse my curiosity”, Water interrupted the zombie again who didn’t look very pleased, “what exactly is someone like you doing at a hospital?”

“Eating the human thrash of course!”

“How cool! Alpha, maybe we should apply there, too! Would be so much easier than all the gravedigging!”

Now, the zombie laughed heartily: “Sorry to disappoint you, but I was just joking! Officially, I’m a trained nurse and operation assistant. Unofficially, I’m specialized in cardiac surgeries… I started in the sixties… A couple of colleagues soon found out about my condition…”

“And they tried to murder you?”, Water suggested.

The zombie only smiled: “Rather the opposite. They helped me to obscure myself from detection… You must know that originally, I only started in order to get my hands on blood… To get enough food here for poor Niels since he himself is so afraid of blood… I, on the other side, am not and food isn’t a problem for me either… Well, you can find dead meat everywhere… As it turned out, I quite enjoy surgeries and the possibility to save lives… On top of that, I seem to be blessed with a very steady hand and an even higher success rate… Once my colleagues and friends found out, they told me that whatever I am doesn’t matter to them…”

“Really?”, I said with a surprised undertone, “zombie in a hospital?”

“Yeah, really!”, the zombie smiled back, “instead of trying to murder me, they calmly set down with me and discussed my future at the hospital and in the real world… The two professors and the operation team I worked with helped me to cover up my tracks… Since it’s easier to cover the traces of an ordinary nurse instead of the life of a well-known doctor, we stuck with the former… So, at the hospital I’m northing more than a simple male nurse while in surgery, I’m the boss…”

“And that really works?”, Water asked with a raised eyebrow, “they must be age-old by now…”

“They passed the secret on… I’m still in contact with my old mentors… We let a few new people in our team… And so far, everything has worked perfectly fine… I operate and safe people and they learn a great lot from me… I guess that 73 percent of all heart cardiac operations within the city district have been performed by me… Plus, I get blood for Niels and stuff like that… On top of that, we worked out a few methods to preserve my body as best as possible… You can’t imagine how many times they helped me reattach missing limbs! But I may calm you, that has never happened during an operation!”

“As longs as nobody talks…”, Niels began…

“It’s only a handful of people and I would trust every single one of them with my life!”, Claudio said emphatically, “we’ve talked about this before!”

“Okay, okay!”, the vampire said defensively, “can you please continue with that story?”

“Well, I got that message from Linton while being at work… Couldn’t do much since I had two scheduled procedures still to come…”, the zombie continued, “after the last patient was on his way to the intensive care unit, I tried to call you but…”

“My phone had run out of energy and I forgot to charge it”, Niels said sheepishly…

“Yeah, you wouldn’t answer… So, I went over to both of your apartments and found both deserted… Since there was no other way, I contacted the magic folk despite them being busy…”

“They’re in their meditation month”, Niels explained, “witches and wizards have to spend about a month each year at a special place to maintain their youth… They absorb some sort of ancient energy out of space and out of the earth… Don’t ask me… I have no idea about shit like that… It’s the prize they have to pay for eternal life… Ours usually go to the Himalayas…”

“And they hate any sort of disturbance”, Claudio continued, “that’s why I first hesitated to call them… But I thought Linton and you were in danger… Either killed or kidnapped… Eventually, I got through and they weren’t very pleased but decided to come over… They certainly took their time… When we got to the property, I tried to convince them to simply ring the bell but they wanted to sneak in… Then…”

“…the hedges attacked them and they tried to burn the hedges, right?”, Niels guessed…

“How did you know that?”

“Guess how I was welcomed”, Niles smiled, “I bravely fought the hedges…”

“You and fighting?”, Claudio chuckled…

“It was rather ridiculous!”, Water threw in, “one of the funniest things I have ever seen… The way he got hurled through the air!”

“My… stomach… turned…”, Alpha added while Earth laughed diabolically… 

“They’re a strange bunch”, Niels said upon Claudio’s questioning glance and went on to introduce us all…

“And where is Linton?”

“Still talking to his father”, Omega said while floating towards ground… A tall bald-headed woman behind him followed suit…


	59. The Witch And The Black Wizards...

Omega then introduced us to his follower: “My lady, these are my brothers: Earth, Water and Alpha… And this is our beloved Papa! He’s the one who saved us!”

Seconds later, a very strong hand shook mine and I stared into black eyes… The blackest I had ever seen… And not just the pupil was black… The entire eyeball was pitch-black… And totally creeped me out…

“Hi…”, was all I brought out…

“You’re scaring him with those eyes”, I heard Niels say… But to be honest, I wasn’t quite able to gasp whatever he said… Too taken by the view ahead of me and the way these black orbits hypnotized me…

I don’t know how long I had been standing there until I heard a familiar raspy voice in my mind: “Papa, calm down! I’m here with you! Everything’s fine!”

I blinked quickly as a large familiar hand violently waved in front of me and the most enchanting deep blue eyes I had ever seen came in sight…

“You’re finally with us again?”, Omega kindly asked…

“What the hell was that?”

“Oh, that was just…”, he paused and turned back towards the tall woman, “I think he won’t gasp that name either… Isn’t there something a bit… shorter and… down-to-earth he might call you?”

The face of the woman was pale and unreadable…

“Seriously”, Omega continued with a kind undertone, “you must have a more human name instead of that ridiculously long apposition of ancient titles!”

“Indeed, it is rather ridiculous in human standards!”, the corners of her mouth formed a small smile, “just call me Fia, if you like!”

“Papa, meet Fia!”, Omega went on, “as far as she explained to me earlier, these black eyes you just saw help her to focus her magic and extract energy from the earth…”

“And from space”, the witch added, “I just forgot to hide them… Humans tend to get lost within them…”

“While I find them mesmerizing!”, Omega chuckled…

The witch blushed slightly upon hearing that: “Well, your eyes are nothing short of magic either!”

“…And it might have slipped my mind to inform you that there is a human amongst us”, Omega continued like nothing had happened though in a highly amused manner…

“Well, thank you for putting those other… eyes of yours away”, I said awkwardly, “ehhh… when are you talking to the others?”

I pointed towards the remaining two energy cells…

Omega shot a questioning glance towards the witch…

“I must excuse my companions for their immaturity”, the witch finally spoke, “but unlike myself, they’re still considered to be in their youth and thus rather tend to act on impulse instead of reason… They will calm down eventually.”

I looked at the witch: “But what does that mean? How old do you have to be in your time standard to be wise and reasonable?”

“You are a curious man, Papa! Always asking the right questions”, the witch smiled, “Omega already told me much about you and I’m glad to learn more about you… It just slipped his mind to inform me of your humanity… But to answer your question, I think it’s better to tell the whole story… Maybe that will give my companions time to calm themselves… Do you all agree?”

She definitively had this aura of authority surrounding her… Something ancient… Something special one could not quite explain…

“Go ahead!”, Omega smiled, “I’d like to hear that!”

“What was going on between the two of them?”, I asked myself…

“Focus… on… the… story, Papa”, I suddenly heard Alphas rusty Swedish echoing rather distantly through my mind, “I’ll… tell… you… later!”

When did the fiery demon get into my head as well?

But instead of thinking about that, I indeed tried to focus on the words of the witch… Although I missed the first few…

“… time works different for us…”, Fia, the witch, began, “we, who can extract energy from earth and space, do not tend to die… At least not naturally when we obey a few rules… I was born in a time when the art of magic was treated very differently than it is today… Back in the day, well, we’re talking more than 4,000 years ago, those who carry the ability to use those magical resources inside them, were carefully selected by those who already knew how to use theirs… Magic was practiced and taught openly… Society thrived… You can still see their remnants today as the great pyramids are still standing…”

“You’re talking about ancient Egyptian society?”

“Of course, I am”, the witch smiled, “I was selected to learn when I was still a child and soon climbed the ladder… At the young age of 376, don’t laugh, I already had a seat in the high council… A right and privilege usually only granted to those thrice as old as I was at that time… But in contrast to the most, I managed to master the higher forms of our craft hundreds of years before most of us ever dreamt of attempting these… During these times, our society thrived…”

“Then why didn’t it last?”, I interrupted her as my tongue had worked on its own yet again…

But luckily, Fia didn’t seem to mind: “Decadence on our side since many didn’t want to move on and adjust themselves to the everlasting torrent of change and second, because our land was invaded by the followers of the Lord of Light…”

I raised an eyebrow…

“She’s not talking about Game of Thrones”, Omega cut in, “this is the ancient name of the one God all Christians, Muslims and Jews worship… The Abrahamic God… The opposite of everything that’s regarded as dark and basically polytheism and atheism…”

“Yeah, indeed! Here’s a very stripped version of my origin”, the witch continued, “when they, the followers of the Lord of Light, arrived in our land, the once so fertile soil soon turned into barren land, the river Nile became a toxic sewage, one bad harvest followed another and people died… Something far worse than what is depicted in their holy scriptures… I tried to convince the others of the severity of the problem but they were only focused on their legacy… Building their stupid monuments and pyramids… Arguing that humanity’s problems were not ours to deal with… That we were above the invaders… That our greatness was more important than thousands and thousands of innocent lives… Religious wars swept over the lands leaving nothing behind but despair and wasted lands… 

Eventually, I decided to leave my home and search for something more prosperous… All hope was gone… I tried to convince some of the other witches and wizards to join me… They only laughed and told me how crazy and immature I was… But in the end, the decision proved to be the right one since all of them are rotting inside their creations… Their monuments turned into graves while I am still here… Killed by armadas of angels and their fanatic followers… Extinct by the very enemy… All of my people gone… All but me…

I wandered the lands in search for other places that practiced these old forms of magic… But for the most parts, all I came across was the spreading and increasing influence of those poisonous religions… Well, until I reached Scandinavia around the turn of the sixth century… Although people were only practicing the lower forms of our craft, they were still true to their pagan roots and very interested to learn more… That’s where I met those two… Discovered their potential during a raid that led us far away from their home… To Vinland…”, the witch said while pointing towards the two remaining energy bubbles, “they were quite eager to learn… The first in ages to manage the higher forms of our craft… But Christianity was spreading quickly, even in Scandinavia, and we had to leave… Search a place where I could teach them undisturbed by the wars of the world… The Himalayas proofed to be perfect for that…”

“Shame that we never met”, Omega twinkled, “we must have arrived not long after you left the country… What made you come back?”

Fia smiled: “Because the poisonous forms of religion are fading in many parts of the world… And to be honest, because these two, well, don’t tell them that I told you, became quite homesick… They wanted to see what had happened to their home and therefore, after many centuries, we returned to the lands of their birth and accidentally met drunken Linton in a bar.”

“What a lovely first impression!”, Water snorted…

“Indeed”, the witch twinkled and then went on while totally switching away from the story and pointing towards one of the bubbles, “I think he should be ready to talk to!”

She and Omega disappeared to only later introduce us to a very handsome, young looking, tall yet slender man with black slicked-back hair who introduced himself as Rasmus…

“So, you’re the Ghouls Linton has always talked about”, he said while shaking Water’s hand thus interrupting the previous conversation the usually so shy demon had had with the vampire and the zombie about human carcasses and their aim to dig up some bodies later on…

We chatted a bit for a while… And I quickly came to the conclusion that the black wizard was nothing but humble and kind as he excused himself to tiny Earth for destroying his precious hedges and promised to make up for what he’d done… To all our surprise, the tiny demon accepted his apology by handing Rasmus a very colorful flower…I couldn’t believe my eyes as the black wizard pulled the tiny demon in a tight embrace over the beauty of the flower and Earth took advantage of the situation by climbing on the tall wizards back who didn’t seem to mind and instead began to circle us… Soon, laughter filled the garden as both Water and Niels set after them while Claudio longingly stared after them and Alpha and I only snickered about the zombies expression…

But the joyful mood came to an end as a slightly annoyed voice cut through the air: “Brother, I honestly expected more from you!”

While Rasmus with Earth on his back and their two chasers froze, all heads on the lawn shot around to see who had spoken… The last bubble of Omegas mysterious energetic prison had finally faded and a tall bald-headed packed but pretty pissed looking guy was standing in its stead… 

“Ignore him!”, Fia said from behind him, “he always tends to get grumpy!”

“I don’t!”

“Yes, you do, Aksel, my love!”, the witch repeated with a wide smile…

“You said that there were more important things waiting for me!”, the grumpy wizard said, “that was the condition I agreed to leave that thing!”

“Well, you could have sulked there far longer”, Omega chuckled…

“You promised…”, the wizard began…

“Yes, I promised”, Omega interrupted him, “come on then! I’ll show you!”

And then added mentally for me: “Don’t worry! We’ll be in my room… Alpha can explain everything to you!”

Alpha and I watched as the magic folk followed Omega as the tall bulky demon headed back towards the mansion… 

“Where are they going?”, Water and Niels asked simultaneously…

“They… will… be… busy… for… a… while”, Alpha explained…

“Wizards! They never care to explain themselves!”, Claudio said while rolling his eyes, “what about our plan? I’m quite hungry…”

“There is a cemetery right behind the mansion”, Water said, “Earth, do you want to come along?”

The smallest demon longingly looked towards the burnt hedges…

“Earth, we’ll regrow them later!”, Water promised, “and you can finally show me what you did to those hedges! But some of us are hungry…”

In the end, Niels, Claudio, Earth and Water headed for the cemetery to dig up some bodies leaving Alpha and me alone… Finally alone…


	60. Finally Alone I...

I looked at the fiery demon: “Not in the mood for grave desecration?”

“I… I… don’t… have… to… in… the… next… month… or… so… and… I… hate… digging”, Alpha smiled, “what… about… you? Soon… you’ll have… to…”

“The longer I don’t have to, the better… That’s probably the only thing about the change I’m not particularly fond of… Anyway, you wanted to tell me about Omega and that witch… What the hell is going on between the two of them?”

“Not… what… you’re… thinking”, Alpha chuckled, “I… overheard… some… of… their… conversation…”

“Wait! Overheard?!? You were standing right next to me and I couldn’t hear a damn thing…”

“Quite… a lovely… conversation… they… had”, Alpha laughed, “don’t… tell… Omega… He… doesn’t… know...”

“What does Omega not know?”

“That… we… share… a… mental… connection…”, the fiery demon explained, “I’ve… known… about… it… since… I was… six or seven… I can… hear… his… thoughts… and… observe… his… conversation… if… I focus… and he… doesn’t… block… me… out… subconsciously…”

“And he doesn’t know?”

The demon shook his head: “No! He doesn’t!”

“He never tried to get in your mind?”

“He… did! But… my… defense… strategy… is… just… too… good…”, the fiery demon snickered…

“What are you doing?”

“Thinking… about… sex… all… the… time! Obviously!”, he laughed, “worked… even… with… the devil…”

“With the devil?”, I asked out aloud…

“Sure!”, Alpha laughed, “how… do… you… think… did… I get… away… with… bangin’… his… chicks?”

“Please, tell me!”, I begged…

“Not here!”, the fiery demon eyed me with a hungry expression in his face, “they… would… only… interrupt… us… once… they’re… done… scavenging! Come! I’ve… prepared… something!”

Then, the demon grabbed my hand and we popped up right in front of the big double door of my bedroom… Alpha looked at me: “Before… I… go… inside… The… witch… and… her… companions… looked… at… Omega… the… way… they… did… is… because… they… unlike… other… witches… and… wizards… who… in… their… eyes… follow… lower… paths... of… magic… Well… they… refer… to… their… magic… as… the… higher… path… Their… art… is… based… on… the absorbance… of… quintessence…”

“That’s why they looked at Omega that way!”, I exclaimed…

“Yeah!”, Alpha continued, “usually… they… absorb… little… quantities… of… that… substance… from… earth… and… space… Meeting… my… brother… who… personifies… the… source of… their… power… must… be… like… the… ultimate… fix… I’m… sure… he… shows… them… his… room… and… a… few… of… his… tricks…”

“And other wizards? The ones of the lower paths?”, I poked, “are they extracting their powers from the lower elements?”

The fiery demon nodded his head: “I… guess… so… But… since… I’ve… never… met… others… I can’t… tell… you… for… a hundred… percent… And now… if… you… excuse… me, I… need… to… prepare… a… few… things… Papa, please… wait… here! I’ve… been… busy… while… you… were… in… the… studio… It… won’t… take… long!”

He quickly opened the doors and disappeared… I meanwhile thought about witches and wizards and wondered what he could have possibly prepared and if his elaboration on that devil story was as heartbreaking as the rest he had told me a few days prior…But all I could hear from the inside of my sleeping accommodation were the demon’s fast steps… 

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait for long as Alpha opened the doors only a few minutes later… My eyebrows shot up as I stared at his pale skin: “Why are you only wearing a towel?”

The demon smirked and pulled me inside: “I… wanted to… show… you… my… romantic… side…”

My eyes scanned the room in amazement… Hundreds and hundreds of little candles seemed to be floating in the air, lighting the room in a dim yet cozy way while the scent of roses in the air was heavy but in a very pleasant dose… The very flowers were scattered everywhere… The demon had even put new crimson sheets on the bed… I had no idea how he managed to keep those candles in the air…

“… and… from… experience… I know… how… much… you… enjoy… a… good… massage…”, the demon continued smugly while closing and locking the doors, “if… you… would… please… undress… yourself… and… get… on… the… bed. I’ll… tell… you… everything…”

“That little twat… He knows exactly how to get me…”, I thought while unbuttoning my pants… He had even brought a selection of oils I realized while climbing on the mattress… 

“You’re… okay?”, Alpha asked once I’d found the right position...

“I’m perfectly fine!”

“What… kind… of… oil… shall… I… use?”

“It smells of roses already… So why shall we not use that?”

The demon behind me chuckled slightly, grabbed a small vial but didn’t let the towel fall to the ground… He then climbed on top of me and began his work… I closed my eyes in utter satisfaction as his hot fingers began massaging my sore muscles… 

I sighed deeply: “Alpha, you should really do this professionally!”

“I… know!”, he laughed and continued…

After a while, I was finally able to concentrate again: “Hey Alpha, before you tell me about the devil and that mental connection thing between you and your brother, I have one little question: How is it even possible that these candles are floating midair?”

The demon chuckled: “This… is… all… connected… Well… Where… shall… I… start… Hmmm… I suppose… everything… has… to… do… with… the… unusual… circumstances… of… our… birth… Surprise! Surprise! What… I… think… happened… is… that… a… small… part… of… Omegas… elemental power… spalled… from… him… and… attached… itself… to… me… It… can’t… be… much… But… enough… for… a… rather… weak… mental… connection… to form, a connection… Omega… is… quite… keen… to… ignore… because… of… my… apparent… dirty… thoughts… Well, and… I can… do… this…”

I opened my eyes to see that all the hundreds of candles in the room were moving… Making it appear like massive groups of fireflies were swarming through the room…  
“… I… can… levitate… things!”, Alpha continued, “though… not… very… good… Not… like… my… brother… Only… small… things… that… have to… do… with fire… And… I can… use… the… quintessence… element… to… enhance… the… temperatures… of… my… fire… and… withstand… much… higher… temperatures…”

“Wait!”, I interrupted him, “I thought fire demons are basically fire…”

“Kind of”, Alpha explained, “but… even… we… have… our… limits… I never… knew… until… that… fight… I… once… had… with… another… fire ghoul… Not… about… that… limit… nor… about… the… quintessence… inside me… Shall… I… show… you?”

“Of course!”, I said, “if it would be easier for you than telling me…”

“A… lot… actually!”, the demon said in his broken Swedish, “close… your… eyes…

Again, I found myself inside Alpha’s granulative memories… This time, I followed both Alpha and Omega down a busy alley… The buildings on both sides rose high in the black and crimson night sky… I was circulated by glass and concrete… Futuristic transportation systems ranging from massive zeppelins to something that reminded me of high-speed magnetic levitation trains… And thousands and thousands of demons… Ghouls and other demonic kinds… A marvelous metropolitan landscape marking mankind’s or in this case the demonic triumph of architecture, craftsmanship, ingenuity and engineering over nature… An infernal version of Metropolis… Although this megacity wasn’t named after the old German movie but according to Alpha called Ghoulheim… My demon’s home…

And I was in the middle of it following my two favorite demons down a dark and busy alley… We passed many of the demonic creatures all dressed in the same black uniform with their identification symbol embroidered on the right side of their chests… Between all the five familiar elemental symbols, I also spotted a vast variety of other symbols I hadn’t seen before… I quickly lost track because of the shire mass of demons we passed in this endless valley alone… At least it wasn’t hard following the two demons since everyone seemed to retreat reverently in order to let the two pass without further disturbances… 

Finally, the two demons stopped in front of what appeared to be a bar and entered… The bar was crowded with drinking, dancing and chatting or rather shouting demons… Loud and wild music echoed through the building… I quickly spotted the source of the music… An equally demonic band was playing on a small stage in the corner of the big saloon on instruments I had never seen before… Because of the time I spend observing the band, I missed whatever Omega told his brother… Therefore, I only saw him leave for one of the upper levels of the establishment… Alpha meanwhile settled for a place at the bar and ordered his first drink…

While I was busy inspecting the bar and its visitors, Alpha drowned drink after drink and got increasingly drunk… One thing I realized, were his unmarked hands… No broken half of a heart embellished neither of his hands… 

After a while, the drunken demon pulled himself off the chair and swayed towards what I supposed was the bathroom area… I followed him… Suddenly, a group of demons blocked his way… I had seen them sitting at a table in a corner of the room far away from the demonic band… Huddled together while occasionally monitoring either the stairs or my drinking fire demon… 

“Look who we’ve got here!”, one of them with an unfamiliar symbol on his chest exclaimed, “the freak!”

The others crackled as the demon with the unknown symbol on his chest was speaking… He was neither tall nor small… Medium sized with a pretty average body… Neither fat, skinny nor pumped… Had a ring through one of his nostrils… His hair was buzzed to a couple of millimeters yet he spotted an impressive pair of muttonchops and a shiny silver fang… He reminded me of a punk rocker… He even spoke like that…

“I counted his glasses”, the, according to his symbol, fire demon next to him continued, “only four glasses and he’s drunk already! Look at the way the freak is swaying! Can’t even stand straight anymore! I bet that’s the reason he isn’t allowed to train and fight with us! Not that anyone would ever consider him as something special! Anyone with half a brain would know he isn’t after watching that weak pathetic freak!”

The others laughed gleefully at the comment of the fire ghoul… He was beautiful… Perfect in every way… From his straight composure to the perfect proportions of his facial features and the impressive pompadour with the buzzed-off sides and back… Probably a narcissist… 

“I’d fight you!”, a boiling Alpha then brought out between gritted teeth among all the laughter…

“Aether, did you hear that?”, the fire ghoul laughed…

“Ifrit, that freak must be joking”, the punk rocker ghoul sneered, “that weak pathetic wimp doesn’t have the balls to fight us! Or why else isn’t he allowed to spar with us?”  
“Because I train with my broth…”, Alpha began to explain himself…

But was interrupted by the other fire ghoul: “Your brother again! How sweet! The almighty Omega! I bet he isn’t as strong as everyone is made to believe since none of us ‘common folk’ have ever seen him in action!”

He spat out the last words in sarcasm and disdain…

“It’s only for your safety…”, Alpha again began…

“Pah!”, Ifrit exclaimed, “who do you think we are? Brainless six-year-olds? You’re only afraid to show what you’ve got! Or better what you haven’t!”

Alpha raised his fists and was about to protest…

“Show it!”, Ifrit jeered, “prove yourself! If you’re too afraid to do it alone, call your brother! Fight, you coward! Fight!”

Alpha was about to lift his hands but then thought better of it: “I don’t need to proof myself to some second-class demonic scum!”

He turned around and was about to sway back to the bar when the other fire ghoul lifted his hands in rage to shoot flames towards Alpha…

Suddenly, an aura of purple appeared to shield Alpha from the flames…

“What kind of coward attacks somebody from behind!”, Omega had appeared at the top of the stairs with his rings glowing, “that must be Ifrit and his oh-so-dangerous and skilled companions! Tell me, since when is sleeping an efficient tactic for attack?”

“What do you mean?”, the furious fire ghoul spat out…

Omega chuckled: “Just look at your air ghoul!”

He pointed towards the table the group had previously been sitting at… Their air ghoul was still sitting there deep asleep while drooling all over the poor table cloth and not being bothered at all by the noisy action inside the full bar…

Ifrit showed Omega his sharp fangs: “He usually isn’t like that!”

By then, the whole bar was watching…

Omega raised an eyebrow: “So far, whenever I’ve seen him, he’s been asleep! I wonder what good he’d be in a real fight! Sure, if he should drop to the ground asleep faster than the actual attack that would be beneficial!”

“We can fight without him and we’d beat you!”, Ifrit shouted, “Aether, show him what you’ve got! Show him the substance you’re made of!”

The punk rocker ghoul raised his hands and began shooting something faintly purplish towards Omega… Fractions of a second later, the attacking demon was caught in a bright purple bubble of energy and whirled through the bar... He finally crashed into a wall and remained lying on the ground while Omega casually walked down the stairs and stopped in front of Aether to look down at the half-conscious demon: “What a puny attack was that! I had expected more! But after all, you’re just an aether demon! Nothing more than a weak rip-off of the quintessence element to complete a demonic circle! I bet the rest isn’t strong either! You don’t deserve my time! Come, Alpha! Let’s go!”

Omega didn’t waste another glance at the five, well four since their air ghoul was still asleep at the table, and headed for the exit of the bar while shaking his head over the recent events… Alpha meanwhile was about to follow, when the angry Ifrit grabbed his arm and growled in a low voice: “The two of us aren’t done yet! Your brother might be strong but you have proven nothing, freak! If you have the balls to fight, meet me tomorrow night at the break of the 13th hour in the old industrial park in the alley with the big monument of the Devil! No one will be there at that time! I’ll be there alone! I’ll be waiting for you, freak!”

He then let go of Alphas arm and returned to his companions who with the exception of the still sleeping air ghoul where struggling to get the defeated aether ghoul back on his feet…

Then, the scene turned black… 

Only to sharpen again moments later as I followed Alpha through vast deserted alleys… The sky above was pitch black and only a few dim lanterns illuminated the streets… This must be the industrial park the other fire ghoul, Ifrit, had talked about… And Alpha really had decided to prove himself and had followed the invitation…

I almost laughed when Alpha turned around a corner and found himself opposite all five demons from the bar and not just one single fire demon…This time, even their usually so sleepy air ghoul was awake although his eyes looked sleep-heavy even from afar… How naïve Alpha had been to believe that narcissistic fire ghoul…


	61. Finally Alone II...

“Look, who’s decided to show up!”, Ifrit exclaimed, “the freak is here!”

The others laughed and Ifrit began to make his way towards Alpha…

“Let’s teach that freak a lesson!”, the silver fang of the obviously recovered aether demon blinked dangerously in the darkness of the alley as he spat out the words to literally fire up his partner in crime, “this time, your oh-so-perfect freak of a brother won’t be there to save your ass!”

“And don’t even dare to disappear!”, Ifrit continued while running towards Alpha, “you know how much shame and dishonor that would bring to you! Show me what little you’ve got!”

Alpha remained where he was… Not that there was much time to think since the other fire demon attacked my ghoul straight away and shot flames in his direction… All Alpha could do was lift his hands in defense to quickly conjure a shield of flames… Flames were exchanged back and forth… The heat of those flames increased quickly as both fire demons were heating up, perceptible by the changing colors of the flames… Luckily, I wasn’t there in my own flesh and blood… The heat would have killed me for sure… It was so hot in fact, that the ground underneath the demons was beginning to melt as were some of the nearby windows and lanterns… 

After a while, well, the flames of the two demons had both reached a complete white, the fight seemed to be going nowhere as none of the demons seemed to be able to obtain the upper hand… 

Then, the other demons joined the fight and the pages turned as the fight got more unbalanced by the second… Soon, Alpha was bombarded with a wide arsenal of different attacks ranging from icy splinters to small earthquakes to make my fiery demon loose his standing… The group of five demons was quickly making ground and getting dangerously close to the more and more desperate looking Alpha and his decreasing fiery shield… Eventually, he got on his knees surrounded by only a small fireball that was dangerously flickering like it was soon going to fade and thus leaving him exposed to the mercy of those five cruel creatures who now towered over my fiery demon… Luckily, the shield sustained… But for how long?

“Soon, you will suffer!”, Ifrit laughed darkly while looking down on the weakening shield of his opponent, “you’re weak, freak!”

“Weak freak!”, the others mockingly repeated over and over again while their attacks continued…

But something had changed… Alpha’s shield was no longer flickering… It was getting clearer and stronger again… Then, I heard Alpha’s trembling voice from inside: “I’m NOT weak!”

It was only barely audible… But I had heard it… The others probably hadn’t… And even so, they continued to attack like nothing had happened… 

“I’m NOT weak!”

The white fiery shield turned into a slight pink… The intensity of the purple slowly increased while the ground underneath my demon now really began to melt… 

“I’m NOT weak!”

The fiery shield illuminated the street in a bright purple now… The eyes of the attackers widened at the sight… More and more of the street and the surrounding buildings caught fire or began to melt… 

“What is this?”, Aether screamed in panic… The confidence in which he was usually showing his silver fang had completely and utterly disappeared… 

“Maybe this is his brother?”, Ifrit shouted back…

“No, he isn’t here!”, Aether cried out in blind fear, “I can’t sense him! That must be the weak freak!”

Suddenly, the fiery violet shield expanded as the fire demon inside was standing up… The five demons began to run, as big chunks of fiery hot asphalt, concrete and shards of glass were leaving the ground and whirling around Alpha whose face as far as I could see it through the flames and the flying objects was contorted in anger…

“I’M NOT WEAK!”, Alpha exclaimed one last time before the wave of infernally hot violet fire erupted from within his body and burnt everything as far as I could see… Burning and melting everything in its way…

Leaving nothing behind but ash… Buildings that had previously been standing there were gone… Not even ruins remained… Even the ground underneath Alpha was gone… And so was the group of the five demons who had attacked my dear and brave fire ghoul… 

All that was left was an apocalyptic landscape and a pleased looking Alpha who was floating midair inside his spherical shield of purple flames overlooking his creation… And his now familiar blazoned hands… That’s how he had gotten those broken hearts… By discovering his true powers…

Suddenly his freshly marked right hand shot forward to catch something shiny… He opened his hand to look down at the silvery thing and said in a low but determined voice: “I told you that I’m NOT weak!”

Then, Alpha simply disappeared…

I opened my eyes… Now back in the here and now… 

“That’s… how… I… discovered… my… true… powers… and… accidentally… burnt… a… very… rude… fire… ghoul… and his… companions… and half… of… Ghoulheims… biggest… industrial… complex…”, the fiery ghoul snickered… 

“What was that silvery thing?”

“Aether’s tooth!”, Alpha answered, “I… always… hated… that… thing! Always… wanted… to… knock… that… thing… out! Now… I… got… it! Look!”

I twisted myself around and was greeted by a widely grinning Alpha and one shining fang…

“Usually… I… hide… it”, Alpha explained, “but… sometimes… I… feel… the… urge… to… show… it!”

“How do you do that?”

“Omega… helped… to… conceal… it…”

“He knows?”

“Of… course… he… does…”, Alpha smiled while gently turning me around to continue the massage, “I… couldn’t… hide… it… from… him… He… came… in… my… room… the… next morning… upon… reading… the paper..., saw… my… freshly… marked… hands… and… put… one and one… together… He… was… very… proud… of… me… Apart… from… my brother… and… you… nobody… knows… though…”

“Would they have punished you?”

“Probably… But… nothing… too… bad… A… few… centuries… in… the… mines… maybe… or… dealing… with… some… heavenly… matter… You… have… to… know… that… demons… always… fight… This… feud… between… Ifrit… and me… had… been… going… on… forever…”

“So how did they not find out that you annihilated him and his friends?”

Alpha laughed: “Because… it… took… weeks… ‘til… somebody… realized… they… were… missing… and… the… authorities… never… suspected… a demon… like… me… being… responsible… for… this… Being… underestimated… has… it’s… benefits… They… thought… it… was… either… a volcanic… eruption… which… isn’t… quite… uncommon… in… hell… or… some… experiments… with… quintessence…”

“Why would anyone do that? Experimenting with that stuff? After all I’ve heard, isn’t that dangerous?”

Alpha laughed darkly: “Of… course… it... is! But... many… experimented… with… it… before… my brother… was… born… to… complete… the… demonic… elemental… circle… You… must… know… that… a… group… of… demons… is… the strongest… if… all… five… primordial… elements… are… assembled… Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Quintessence… That’s… why… our… group… is… so… rare… and… highly… looked… at…”

He paused a moment to focus on an uptight part of my left shoulder: “You… know… enough… about… quintessence… to… be… aware… that… it’s… a… very… obstinate… and… unpredictable… substance… It rarely… ever… appears… on… its own… My… brother… would… be… the… exception… although… the… Judge… says… otherwise… That’s… why… many… tried… to… magically... attract… it… which… so… far… has… never… worked… the… way… intended… It either… ended… up… in… the… creation… of… weaker… elemental… demons… like… aether… or… resulted… in… mass… destruction… After… Omega… was… born… these… experiments… only… increased… That’s… why… they… never… caught… me!”

“And those symbols on your hands? What’s up with them? Did nobody except Omega spot them?”

“No!”, Alpha chuckled, “the… Judge… hates… me… too… much… to… pay… close… attention… at… that… time… as… did… most… of… the… others… I… was… so… happy… to… finally… get… them…”

“Why?”

“Demons… get… some… sought… of… tool… to… help… them… focus… their… powers… Magic rings, tattoos or bracelets… to… name… a few… possibilities… Demons… usually… receive… them… when… they’re… really… young… and… begin… their… training… Some… like… Omega… even… earlier… I… think… he… has… never… taken… his… rings… off… The… judge… always… denied… me… mine… since… I… wasn’t… worthy… in… her… eyes… So, I… developed… some… on… my… own… Very… few… demons… do… But… I did!”

“And nobody missed them? Your enemies I mean?”

“Nope! There… are… just… too… many… demons… in Ghoulheim!”

“Okay! But there is just one Alpha!”, I chuckled, “one and only! And what was that mind reading thing with the Devil all about? What did he do to you? Please, tell me it isn’t another heartbreaking scene like the one with the Judge in the mine…”

“Nothing… too… bad…”, Alpha spoke softly, “let me show you!”


	62. Finally Alone III...

I did as Alpha had told me and again found myself inside one of his granulative memories… This time, it wasn’t the scene of a rather busy Ghoulheim alley but the silence of a modern looking apartment… Alpha and Omega were sitting opposite each other on some sofas and silently enjoying a drink… My insubstantial body walked towards the massive windowfronts of the apartment… The view was striking… Simply spectacular… Situated at the very top of one of the tallest skyscrapers of Ghoulheim, I was able to overlook the entire city… The shire size of the urban landscape with all its skyscrapers, monuments and chimneys ahead of me was hard to gasp… There must be several millions of demons living there… 

“You know that I could get everyone!”, Alpha’s words made me turn around…

Omega had raised an eyebrow: “Really everyone?”

The fire demon smiled wickedly: “You know how many I’ve made happy! I’m a natural talent! I can bang anyone! Even you! Wanna bet? Give me a suggestion!”

“Sure brother!”, Omega laughed darkly, “what about the Devil’s marionets then?”

Alpha froze…

“You said you’d get everybody laid!”, Omega pushed, “so what about them?”

“A… aren’t… they… His?”, Alpha stuttered…

Omega raised an eyebrow: “Paragraph 6 of the Unholy Legislation states that everyone walking the hot surface down below is unbound in his or her romantic life… Basically a call to not forget to fuck each other!”

“Even the devil’s harem?”

“Even them!”, Omega said emphatically, “so, dear brother, are you giving it a go and living up to your big mouth? I promise thought, that I will cover things up for you should something go wrong!”

“Can you even handle the devil?”

“He isn’t that bad!”, Omega smiled, “he’s actually a great guy considering his position!”

The memory turned black as Alpha and Omega continued to argue about the latest match between Ghoulheim United versus the Bonehead Rovers in the Infernal Bloodball League… Whatever that meant… But from what I heard, Omega didn’t seem to enjoy the sport and rather hated it whereas Alpha seemed to worship his hometown team…

The scene focused again… Now, I was standing right beside my two demons on top of the building… They were observing the sky… 

Alpha’s feet moved nervously on the ground: “Where is he?”

Omega shook his head: “Calm down! You know how busy he is!”

“You’re saying that so easily…”

“Don’t worry about the plan! The doors won’t be locked! He joked so many times how nobody would ever dare to trespass and steal his things…”

“How long do I have?”

“Don’t worry about the time! You know how much he likes to take his time when he’s with me! As long as you’re not planning on celebrating a day-long orgy, you’ll be fine! Just be discrete!”

Alpha still didn’t look too happy…

But the arrival of the Devil put an end to their conversation… 

“Look! There!”, Omega pointed towards the sky… A massive zeppelin was embarking and slowly making its way through the air… I wondered how this thing was going to land… But Omegas glowing hands quickly answered my question… Soon, the passenger cabin softly hit the roof of the skyscraper and I began to wonder how the Devil would look… 

I didn’t have to wait for long as a small pair of stairs folded out and the doors of the cabin were pushed open… An impressive figure emerged from within, quickly making his way towards the two waiting demons… He was tall… Muscular but not packed… Like the perfect predator on the hunt for his prey… His skin was the color of black marble while the eyes glowed in a dangerous crimson… The contours of his face were sharp, evil and marvelous in every way… The slicked-back blackish hair with a touch of crimson perfectly in place… With the black and crimson three-piece suit, he could have been an infernal version of Hannibal Lecter… 

Luckily, he didn’t devour my precious demons with any fava beans and chianti but greeted them with a wide smile and warm words… At least one of them: “My dear Omega, it’s been too long! How are you doing?”

He pulled the tall bulky demon in a tight embrace and padded his broad muscular shoulder… 

“Good, and you?”, Omega spoke in return…

“Busy as always!”, the Devil smiled back, released Omega and pointed towards the entry of the demon’s apartment, “come on! We’ve got so much to talk about!”

The Devil then went on to lead Omega inside while totally ignoring poor Alpha… The fiery demon watched as they left the roof while his fingers nervously fumbled with his black uniform… Once the Devil and Omega were inside and the door shut, Alphas gaze violently flashed between said door and the zeppelin… 

Then, Alpha closed his eyes… He took a deep breath and quickly set off for the zeppelin… Like Omega had said, the door wasn’t locked… Plenty of surprised eyes stared at the fire demon…

A wicked smile had appeared on Alphas face: “Hello boys and girls! Would you like to have some fun with Alpha?”

If the demons inside the zeppelin cabin had looked surprised before, they looked totally shocked now…

“What are you doing in here?”, one of the female demons asked…

“Making you happy of course!”, Alpha said with plenty of confidence…

“Who are you?”, another demon asked…

“The best fucker in town!”, Alpha answered with a dirty grin…

“Nobody is better than the Devil!”, a small male demon protested…

“Undress yourself and I will show you!”, Alpha animated the male demon in a way only Alpha could… His eyes grew only wider as the fiery demon slowly opened silver button after silver button of his fancy black suit and casually threw it aside to show him his toned upper body…

“You like what you see, mate? Right?”, he asked dirtily…

The male demon opened his mouth, but no sound crossed his lips… Alpha took advantage of that and simply pulled the paralyzed demon up to a, from an outside perspective, very passionate and deep kiss…

“You really are good!”, the male demon exclaimed once their lips had parted, “I haven’t had a kiss as good as this in millennia!”

“And I could show you so much more!”, Alpha smirked…

“Yes, please!”, the male demon answered eagerly while others, too, joined in…

“Undress yourself and beg!”, Alpha commanded…

Clothes were flying everywhere as the entire harem of the Devil started to undress themselves kneeling at Alphas feet… The bare-chested fire ghoul was now standing in the middle of a mass of naked bodies and answering their calls: “Don’t worry! Alpha is here for all of you!”

Sadly, the scene went black before the orgy could start… Sadly…

Seconds later, everything focused again… We were back in Alphas and Omegas apartment on top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Ghoulheim… Again, the two demons were sitting on a sofa… But this time, not opposite each other… Instead, they were sitting next to each other and Omega had one of his massive arms tugged around Alphas shoulders… The tall bulky demon seemed to be talking to his fiery twin…

I walked closer… Alpha looked horrible… Had big bags under his reddened eyes and lacked every bit of confidence, joy and charm he usually emitted… 

“Alpha”, Omega said softly, “I don’t know what he wants from you! Really! But he wrote that he wants to see you and that he won’t be here to punish you again! I don’t know what the Devil has in mind! But he usually keeps up to his words! If he says he won’t punish you, he won’t punish you…”

“But why does he want to see me? He usually always ignores me!”

“I don’t know, brother!”, Omega said calmly, “we’ll soon find out! Stop crying, Alpha! A smile suits you far better than tears!”

Alpha inhaled deeply: “You’re right! And thank you again for saving me!”

Omega waved it off: “I promised to protect you since everything was my idea… At least sort of… The next time I’m trying to talk you into an orgy, talk me out of it!”

“What about an orgy with you and the rest of our brothers?”

“That’s the Alpha I want to see”, Omega smiled, “just tell me what the Judge did to you after the Devil left and I’ll talk to her! Whatever she did to you wasn’t right…”

“I… can’t… tell… you…”, Alpha stuttered…

Omega sighed: “Come on! I’m your brother! What did she do to you after the Devil was finished yelling at you and the two of them unsuccessfully tried to read your mind? Which I must add is remarkable in itself! I think that has only happened twice…”

“Who was the other?”, Alpha asked, “it was you, wasn’t it?”

“How did you know?”, Omega chuckled playfully, “of course it was me! The Devil tried more than once to get into my mind but never got in there… Said that my defense was too strong! What did you do to shield yourself?”

Alpha shrugged his shoulders: “Thought about sex… All he could see was me fucking around… Of course not with his harem…”

Omega raised his eyebrow: “That’s your secret?”

Alpha nodded his head…

“Explains many things… Then what did happen after he left? What did the Judge do to you? Where did she take you?”

“I… can’t… tell… you!”, Alpha repeated with a thin voice…

“Whatever it is, I would not laugh nor pity you, brother!”

“It’s not that what I fear”, Alpha said quietly, “I fear what you would do! It’s better if you don’t know! Please, leave it be for now!”

The two brothers remained quiet until Omega finally cleared his throat: “It’s time!”

I followed the two demons as they made their way up to the roof of the skyscraper… The zeppelin of the Devil had already landed and the door to the cabin was open… I scanned the roof… Where was he?

“Nice of you to finally show up!”


	63. Finally Alone IV...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I won't be able to update this weekend, I decided to update a bit earlier than usual... Have fun!

All heads turned to the left where the Devil was casually leaning against the balustrade and inspecting the skyline of Ghoulheim far below him… 

“Sorry if we kept you waiting…”, Omega began…

“Don’t worry about that!”, the Devil waved it off and turned away from the skyline, “I haven’t been here for long…”

“Still, you shouldn’t…”

“Omega, Omega”, the Devil smiled, “I can wait like everyone else! And let me tell you one thing: the wait really paid off! It’s nice to see you again! It’s been too long!”

With that, he closed the last few meters between himself and my ghoul and caught him in a fierce embrace… 

“If I hadn’t been that busy dealing with my damned Father I would have come a lot sooner!”, the Devil sighed while letting go of Omega, “I told you how annoying he his… Wants to send angels down here to inspect whatever I’m doing… I told him to fuck off and bang mom for a change instead of these pathetic angelic whores! Maybe another little devilish brother would be the outcome… His first positive creation in ages… Let’s not talk about that… Where is your brother? Where is Alpha? You do not need to fear me!”

Alpha had hidden himself in the shadow of his slightly taller brother and looked like he would prefer to be anywhere else but here on top of this very roof in the presence of the Prince of Darkness himself… 

“Alpha, I’m not here to harm you or punish you any further!”, the Devil said softly, “I’m here to apologize!”

For the first time since the Devil had spoken, Alpha eyes left the ground and shyly moved upwards: “I’m… sorry…”

“No, not you!”, the Devil chuckled and carefully grabbed Alphas right hand which was already marked with the half-broken heart, “Alpha, look at me!”

The fiery demon obeyed hesitantly…

“Alpha, I’m really sorry for losing my temper and yelling at you!”

The fiery demon’s jaw dropped…

“I shouldn’t have done that! It was wrong!”, the Devil continued while pointing towards his zeppelin, “there is no law stating that these demons are only mine to pleasure… Every demon is equal… I know that the elemental ranking states otherwise but in bed, we’re all equal… I was just a bit… surprised… when I found out! Alpha, wouldn’t you agree that hearing your favorite lad screaming the name of another would be kind of… off-putting? ‘Alpha, fuck me! You’re sooooo good!’ he kept screaming…” 

Alpha took a step backwards but the Devil was still holding one of the marked hands of the fire demon…

“Alpha, I’m not angry! In retrospect, I must say that I’m highly amused! You must be really good!”, the Devil smiled…

“He is!”, Omega chuckled, “I can confirm that!”

“I might try some day”, the Devil laughed, “Alpha, I’m not mad at you! Do you accept my apology?”

“You… said my… name”, the fiery demon stuttered…

“Because your name is Alpha!”

“But… you… never said my name before… You always ignored me…”

“Have you any idea how many demons I have to deal with?”, the devil said calmly, “20 million live in this city alone and there are quite a few more cities like this… And I’m not even talking about the Shadow Lands… Alpha, I simply have to be very careful at selecting my company… Omega here as the only quintessence demon down below is a natural choice… In other cases, special characters and talents need to be discovered to get on my radar! Apology accepted?”

Alpha shyly nodded his head: “Accepted!”

“With that said, I’m not implying that screwing around with my harem is the new recipe to get in touch with me”, the Devil continued but stopped when he looked at Omega, “what is it?”

“The Judge… She did something to him after you had left… Alpha usually isn’t shy and reserved at all… Otherwise he would have never dared to do the things he’s done…”, Omega spoke quickly, “he won’t tell me what she did… But whatever she did, traumatized him… She shouldn’t have done that…”

The Devil observed Alpha for a very long time: “Omega, please leave us alone!”

“But…”, the tall bulky demon protested…

“There is no but! Please, go!”

After Omega was gone, the Devil reassuringly and soothingly grabbed Alphas shoulders: “What did that witch of a woman do to you?”

Alpha stared at the Devil with big eyes…

“Go on! You can speak freely! I can’t stand her either! Ever since your brother was born, she’s behaving impossibly… Conceited, arrogant and like a little dictator… You can’t imagine how many times I told her to behave... Seems like I have to remind her yet again… Sometimes, I wish she would have experimented with quintessence for real and blown herself up… Shame that didn’t happen and I still have to deal with her… Tell me, what has she done this time?”

“She… she… she… took me… to… the sulphur mines… and… sh… sh… showed… me… those… chambers…”

“She did what?!?!”

“She… showed… me… what… usually… happens… to… people… like… me…”

The Devil remained quiet for a very long time…

“I know… I… should… be… dead…”

“No, Alpha, you shouldn’t!”, the Devil finally spoke, “you have every bit of right to be alive!”

“But… I’m weak… Imperfect…”

“Because of the circumstances of your birth!”, the Devil explained, “you might be lacking in some areas but that’s because of the quintessence in your body… Are you aware…”

“I know”, Alpha said quietly, “I found out when I burned the industrial park to the ground…”

The fire demon quickly covered his mouth and remained quite…

“That was you?”, the Devil asked with a raised eyebrow but not angry at all, “thank you for your honesty! That will remain a secret between the two of us! You must know that originally, I wanted to visit the city to tell you how much I admire your mental shield! Beside you, only your brother has managed to keep me out of his mind so far… You’re the second! Not even the Judge has managed to do so! Congratulation for that!”

“Thank you!”, Alpha whispered…

“Alpha, you’re stronger than the Judge thinks! Stronger and smarter than most believe you are! Burning that industrial park to the ground, although I’d suggest to not repeat that, withstanding my mental attack on you and not telling your brother about those chambers all prove how strong and smart you are! You knew what he would do upon finding out!”

“He would have destroyed the entire realms of hell”, Alpha breathed, “he hates injustice and cruelty more than anything else…”

“Exactly!”, the Devil went on, “he wouldn’t understand… These rules have been made long ago… You can’t image how much I hated to sign those bills… But I had to… For the sake of others… Because those imperfect creations, not that you’re one of them, tended to blow up or go completely mental back then killing thousands and thousands… Nowadays, that only happens rarely when quintessence is involved but back in the days, it occurred almost daily…”

“Still, Omega wouldn’t understand…”, Alpha sighed…

“Yeah! Thank you for not telling him! It shall remain between the two of us. Before we go down to him, I want to tell you one last time how proud I am of you! You’re anything but weak! You’re the strongest fire demon I have ever had the privilege to meet! I’ll talk to the Judge about her unspeakable behavior and ensure she won’t ever repeat something like that! And now!”, the Devil raised his voice, “we should go to your brother and celebrate the smartest, strongest and most gifted fire demon down below! Maybe you could show me some of the skills you have demonstrated for my harem?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for two rather smutty chapters!


	64. Fiery Love I...

To my disappointment, the scene went black again and I found myself in my bedroom still being massaged by the very fire demon…

“Why must you always cut out the best parts?”, I complained…

“I… don’t… want… to… spoil… the… surprise!”, Alpha chuckled, “I… have… planned… great… things!”

“I have just one question: If the Devil told you that he doesn’t think you’re weak and worthless, why do you still think you are?”

“I… don’t!”

“But that scene in the kitchen the other day…”

Alpha looked at me guiltily…

“…or did you just do that to get me into agreeing to become your kinky master?”

“A… bit… of… both… actually!”, the fire demon explained quietly, “don’t… get… me… wrong… For… a… long… time… I… couldn’t… deal… with… what… the… Judge… showed… me… and… my… existence… Teasing… by… my… brothers… sometimes… brings… those… feelings… back… You… heard… them…”

“If you want me to, I could talk to them…”

“No!”, Alpha waved it off, “I’m fine! I… can… deal… with… that!”

“Really?”

“Really!”, and with that, the fiery demon continued to massage my back… I closed my eyes and once more got lost in his touch… 

“Alpha”, I sighed after a while, “did you really demonstrate your… talents for the Devil?”

“Of course”, the demon chuckled…

“Did he like it?”

“Ohhh yes!”

“What did you do?”

“Many… things!”, he said in a suggestive tone, “do… you… want… me… to… show… you?”

“Nothing more than that!”

“That’s… what… I… thought!”, Alpha laughed, “for… a… start… please… turn… around!”

I obeyed after he fiery demon had lifted himself off my legs and allowed me to move… Once in my position, the demon slowly removed the white towel to show me his hardening lengths… The demon leaned over me, pinned me down with his hands and placed his lips longingly onto mine… I felt the tips of his tongue demanding entry… I eagerly parted my lips to welcome him… How long had I been waiting for this?

The answer was simple: Too long! 

I wanted more from the demon… I tried to pull him closer but he wouldn’t let go of my hands… 

“Alpha, please”, I moaned, “let me touch you….”

“No!”, Alpha said firmly, “you… need… to… trust… me and… do… as… I say… Understand?”

“Okay!”

Our lips meet again… Only much longer and deeper… I felt my dick grow hard, rise up and grind against his… What a good feeling that was… I wanted him to touch me… To show me what his skilled fingers could do to other parts of my body… 

But instead of that, I felt the demon moving forwards and sliding over my belly all the way up to my chest where he rested for a moment and looked down at me after our lips had finally parted…

“Close… your… eyes!”, he ordered in a low growl, “and… do… your… work!”

I was about to ask what kind of work he had in mind, when his knees replaced his strong hands to pin be down and I felt something hard and warm fill my mouth… I sucked eagerly and let my tongue swirl as best as I could around the head of his cock… If I could only touch him… Stroke him… Caress his balls… But he didn’t let me… 

Instead, I felt him reach for something… But I couldn’t see what… I was so concentrated on trying to see what Alpha was doing, that I almost missed the grunt above me…

“Concentrate!”, the fiery demon commanded and forced his rock-hard dick deeper down my throat… Now, I couldn’t see anything… My whole world was focused on my lover’s lengths in my mouth… But the way the demon reacted over me, showed me that I was doing a damn good job even with my limited possibilities… I sucked and licked eagerly to get as much of this rosy taste as I could while desperately looking forward to the harvest…

The demon above me shifted and leaned further above me almost making me gag as his shaft sank further in my throat… I heard two clicking noises as steel met steel… I had no idea what he was doing… I sucked harder and seconds later was rewarded with the first drops of precum emerging from his twitching lengths… 

Then, Alpha pulled out… Much to my disappointment… All I could do was staring at his swollen dick in front of my face… Quickly, the demon released my right arm from underneath his leg and forcefully grabbed it to move it far above my head close to the headboard of my bed… Fractions of a second later, I felt something cold around my wrist and heard the sound of something snapping shut… 

“Alpha, what are you doing?”, I looked at him with big eyes…

“Trust… me!”, he growled...

He repeated the same with my left arm… 

Where had he gotten these handcuffs from?

Our eyes met: “Alpha, did you really do the same to the Devil?”

The corners of the fiery demon’s mouth twitched mischievously: “Of course! I… said… I’d… do… the… exact… sa… same… to… you! A… and… you… can’t… image… how… much… he… liked… it… to… be… at… the… mercy… of… somebody… else! As… long… as… you… don’t… force… him… to… call… you… daddy…”

“So, you just chained him up for a couple of hours?”

“No!”, icy eyes glared down at me, “I… did… so… much… more!”

With that, the fiery demon raised his hands and the glow of the half-broken hearts on his hands intensified as the hundreds and hundreds of candles swirled through the room… I watched in wonder as Alpha caught one of the little waxen torches… Before I could even open my mouth to protest, I felt the hot wax dripping down on the skin of my chest… 

“Alpha!”, I protested trying to wind myself away from the hot wax… But the handcuffs and the demon who was still sitting on my legs turned that into an impossible endeavor…

“Stop!”, Alpha suddenly commanded…

“But…”, I began to protest without stopping my hopeless movements…

“STOP!”, the fiery demon said more firmly… This time, I stopped immediately and was caught in his ice-cold eyes...

“Why… are… you… fighting?”, he asked sincerely…

“It hurts!”

“Don’t… lie!”

“It REALLY hurts!”

“Then… how… comes… your… dick… is… rock… hard?”, the fiery demon laughed while pointing at my more than obvious erection, “it… wasn’t… when… we… started!”

I took the inward turn while staring at my length and the now cold wax on my skin… It had hurt… Yes… There was no way denying that… But the pain had faded fairly quickly… Actually, it felt quite nice now… Making me felt sexy… And didn’t pain lead to pleasure… At least in some scenarios? Hadn’t my erection just proven that? 

“Shall… I… continue?”

I stared into this cold yet lust filled eyes: “Please!”

I watched as Alpha carefully drizzled the first drops of crimson wax on my waiting skin… I moaned loudly as the hot liquid came in contact with my sensitive flesh… Alpha had been right… Of course, he had been, being a fire demon… I liked the little stings of pain caused by the hot yet quickly cooling wax… Soon, the first candle was gone… But quickly replaced by the next… And by the next… And the next…

The fiery demon went on to cover every bit of skin with wax… I screamed in pleasure when the first drop op infernally hot wax hit the sensitive flesh of my pierced nipples… By then, my dick was beyond hard… Towering high above my body… Alphas treatment had made it so sensitive…

It was almost too much, when the burning wax hit my length… I almost exploded… But the speed of the flaming hot drops of wax sadly was to slow for that: “Please, Alpha! Touch me! Just once!”

But the demon only continued to drizzle wax all over my swollen balls and dick…

“Alpha, please!”, I begged, “touch me! Make me cum! Please! Ple…”

I stopped when the last hot drop of wax splashed over the top of my desperately for release begging length… My breath was heavy as another candle was gone… My chest under all the wax rising and contracting mechanically… 

“Alpha, please!”, I whimpered longingly, “please! Make me cum!”

The fire demon above me smirked darkly: “Who… knew… you’d… beg… that… quickly!”

I was about to continue begging, when the fiery demon leaned forward and placed a rough kiss on my lips… One of the only places that hadn’t been covered with the crimson wax… As our kiss intensified, he pressed his body against mine… Only parted by a layer of wax, he grinded his length against mine… 

“Touch me!”, I moaned in his ear, “please, touch me!”

He only bit my neck, thus making me exclaim my lust even louder…

“I… will… touch… you! And… eventually, I… will… make… you… cum!”, I heard his dark voice close to my ear sending shivers down my spine…

“But… first”, he continued to growl, “this… wax… has… to… go!”


	65. Fiery Love II...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to PossesseeOfAvarice for giving me the idea to write this chapter!

His lips crashed back down onto mine… His body continued to merciless grind against me… His dick pressed tightly against my wax-covered hardness… His hands roughly caressed my pierced nipples… And all I could do, was return the kiss as passionately as I could since I couldn’t do much in my limited position lying underneath the fiery demons with my wrists chained to the headstock… 

The taste of rose on my tongue mixed with something metallic… Alpha’s razor-sharp fangs must have cut my lip again… But I couldn’t care less… And neither did Alpha…

Above me, the body of the fire demon got increasingly hotter… Thus melting the first layers of the crimson wax, he so lustfully had drizzled over my entire body… Soon, our bodies became one… As the melted wax united us… The way he kissed me… The way he touched me… The way he played with my nipples… How I wished to touch him in return… But he wouldn’t let me… It was as simple as this: I was at his mercy… So, I did nothing but kiss him and enjoy his touch…

But after a while, Alpha lifted himself off me… I must have looked very disappointed, because the demon quickly added: “You’ll… get… what… you… desire… if… you… are… patient… and… trust… me! Wanna… see… a… trick… before… I… suck… your… dick?”

I shivered while I was staring at the fiery demon and the liquid crimson wax that covered his chest all the way down to his feet… The tattoos on his hands suddenly began to glow dangerously… Soon, I watched as the crimson wax left both of our bodies to unite in the air above me… In wonder, I watched as the wax turned into a detailed similitude of us six: my five demons and me… Six new candles… Carefully levitated to the desk close to the window… But I would never ever dare to light one of them on fire… 

Then, something unexpected made me turn my eyes away from the candles… My head shot back in ecstasy as I moaned in pleasure… While I had been busy staring at the candles, the fire demon had quickly grabbed my dick and was now genuinely licking over the tip of it… Once I had caught my breath again, I was able to focus my eyes on the action… The way these two tips of his-oh-so-skilled tongue were swirling around my length was enticing enough by only watching… 

But feeling it was even better… All I wanted to do right now, was pushing my dick even further into that skilled mouth and shot my seed into his throat… Sadly, I still couldn’t move… And so, the fire demon continued his diabolical game of teasing me even more… I felt it seething inside of me… Every cell inside of me wanted one thing only: get my well-deserved and long-awaited release…

“Not… so… soon!”, he whispered into my ear while simultaneously pinching my right nipple, “before… I… fuck… you… into… oblivion… I’ve… got… one… more… thing… I… want… to… give… you…”

Our eyes met… My hazy green ones stared into his icy cold ones… 

“What… is it?”, I managed to get out despite my ragged breath… 

The fiery demon smiled darkly: “A… little… present! I… want… to… fulfill… my… biggest… dream… my… strongest… desire… on… you…”

“But should…”, I began…

“I’m… sure… you… will… like… it”, Alpha smirked, “in… fact… I… know… that… you… thought… about… it!”

“About what?”

“I’m… not… spoiling… the… surprise!”

“But, Alpha”, I protested, “it’s your dream!”

“I… know!”, he chuckled mischievously, “but… one… can… always… share…”

“Still, it’s yours!”

“Once… your… transformation… is… over… you… can… properly… play… with… me”, he whispered suggestively into my ear while his fingers softly traced lines over my rock-hard dick, “and… do… the… same… to… me! Will… you… do… that… master?”

“Doing… what?”

“Just… trust… me!”

“Alpha, please…”

He silenced me with a kiss: “Will… you… do… it?”

“Alpha…”

He kissed me again… Only deeper and longer while his hands magically worked on my nipples and my over-sensitive length…

“WILL… YOU… DO… IT?”

“Yes, Alpha!”, I screamed loudly as I couldn’t bare it anymore, “I WILL DO IT!”

“Do… you… promise?”

“YES, I PROMISE!”

At this point, I would have done anything to get my release…

“Okay!”, Alpha twinkled and reached under the cushions to get a black silk tie… Only to loop it around my head to block my vision…

“Don’t… worry!”, he tried to ensure me while massaging my dick, “I… watched… instructional… videos…”

“Of what?”

“The… thing… I’m… going… to… do!”, he explained, “you… know… I… liked… it… so… much… What… Linton… did… to… me… the… other… day… and… ever… since… I… can’t… think… of… anything… else…”

“WHAT?”, I screamed loudly, “Alpha, you can’t be serious!”

“Yes, I am!”

“But…”, I began to protest, “you have never done it…”

My voice cracked after that… After all the moaning and screaming it had turned hoarse… On top of that, the visual of Alpha’s plan flooded my mind… How did that little fucker know me so well? How did he even know all about my secret desires? And even the most secret one of them? I had never shared this with anyone… Even avoided to think about it for most of my life… Especially about that one… But being together with those demonic sex maniacs had brought more and more of that back to light… Especially my little town visit with Water and seeing Alpha hanging from the ceiling after that night with Linton…

“I… have… a steady… hand”, the demon tried to ensure me, “clean… professional… tools… and… a… mixture… from… Air… that… will… heal… it… directly… Do… you… trust… me?”

I remained silent… Unsure of my thoughts…

“Are… you… afraid?”

Then, my mind cleared… Actually, I wasn’t afraid… To be honest, I didn’t fear the procedure nor felt insecure about the fiery demon doing it… I trusted Alpha completely… The pain would be bearable… The result rewarding… And thus, making one of my biggest secret desires come true… The thought alone was more arousing than anything the fiery demon had done so far… And that itself was a hard thing to accomplish… 

“Alpha, do it!”

“Are… you… sure?”

He obviously hadn’t expected that quick change of heart…

“Yes, do it!”

“Really?”

“DO IT!”

“Do… you… really… want… me… to… put… a… needle… through… there?”

“DO IT NOW!”

“I’m… asking… one… last… time: Do… you… want… me… to…”

I couldn’t hear it any longer… Couldn’t wait any more… If he was really going to do it, he had to do it now: “ALPHA, DO IT NOW! GET OVER WITH IT! AND AFTERWARDS, I WANT TO BE FUCKED SENSELESS! UNDERSTOOD?”

The demon above me crackled as a reply and grabbed my dick… Something wiped over it and moments later, the smell of disinfectant filled my nose… At this point, I was breathing heavily because I knew what would come…

“Ready?”, Alpha asked one last time while I felt something sharp and cold entering my urethra… 

But before I could answer, I felt a sharp sting going through the underside of my glans… I saw stars… Not that it felt bad… The opposite actually… Pure amazement… Fractions of a second later, the pain was mostly gone and reduced only to a small pounding while I felt nothing but pleasure… Good, that I had done it…

“You… like… needles… just… as… much… as… I… do!”, Alpha chuckled and removed the silk tie from my eyes… I looked down at myself and my obviously relieved dick in his hand… The needle that had been pushed through my helmet was shining in the candlelight… As was the large load dripping from my demon’s chest… 

“How… did… you… know?”, I asked between ragged breaths while still being on a very intense erotic high…

The fiery demon shrugged his shoulders while wiping the mixture of blood and semen off my dick: “I… just… knew… it…”

“I never…”, I began…

But the demon silenced me by inserting a slightly curved metal bar in the freshly pierced canal and closing it with a small metallic ball: “I am… a… fire… demon… and… always… will… be! I… know… shit… like… that!”

“But… how?”

“Can’t… explain… it!”, Alpha said while gently applying some of the healing paste, “it’s… in… my… nature…”

Our eyes met… His eyes were a mixture of his typical ice-cold glare and pure desire... He put the closed tube of the healing paste to the side and growled more than he asked boldly: “May… I… fuck… you… now?”

I shivered in excitement… Despite having just cum all over Alpha’s chest, I was still hard and knew that there was more inside of me that bagged for release… That demon… He simply knew too well how to turn me on… I replied the gaze: “Yeah! Fuck me, Alpha! Fuck me really fucking hard!”

The demon smiled… But firstly, he leaned over me to give me another kiss: “Thank you… for… your… trust, Papa! I’ll… give… you… what… you… desire!”

With that, he opened the handcuffs and leaned back… I crawled on top of him to touch him… How eager I was to feel every bit of skin underneath my fingers… Again, the fire demon had been right… Of course, I wanted to get fucked really badly but more importantly for me was touching and feeling my precious fire demon after this long time of being at his mercy… We sank deep into a kiss while my fingers played with the metal bars in his hard nipples… 

I felt our dicks grinding against each other… The feeling was so intense… Even more intense - more electrifying and magic - because of my new piercing… I don’t know if it was the testosterone and the euphoria caused by our wild action or Air’s healing paste, but my dick didn’t hurt at all and instead, was more sensitive and turned on than ever… Next time Alpha would show up with a needle, there’d be no need to consider… I’d simply trust him and do it… 

Without a word, Alpha produced a tube of lube from out of nowhere and began to distribute a generous amount of the magic liquid on my entrance… Meanwhile, I had done good work on his penis… Our eyes didn’t break contact as I moved forwards and let myself sink on his waiting rock-hard length… 

I exhaled deeply once his dick was all the way in and his balls touched my entrance…

“We… finally… got… there!”, Alpha laughed while reminding me of all the circumstances ranging from unexpected guests to silly arguments over guitar recording techniques that had prevented us from spending this long awaited intimate moment together…

“Yeah, we finally did! And it was so much worth it!”, I whispered in his ear… I slowly licked over his ear lobe: “Alpha, you can’t image how much I love you!”

“Truly… and… utterly!”, he moaned in return while stroking over my chest… A wide grin appeared on both our faces as I lifted myself up only to let myself fall back on his length… Soon, I had found my rhythm… First slowly and sensual… Then faster, more intense and increasingly ecstatic… The fire demon felt amazing inside me… Perfect in every way… 

But I must have done a bloody good job, too… The ice-cold lust filled eyes ahead of me rolled back as I felt his cock inside of me beginning to twitch ecstatically… 

“Touch me, Alpha!”, I begged, “I want to cum with you! Together as one!”

The icy eyes didn’t roll back… But his fingers blindly searched for my newly decorated length and soon found it… While I rocketed back and forth on his rock-hard and twitching dick, he suddenly squeezed his right hand around mine and gently began rubbing over my glans with his fingers ever so carefully stimulating my fresh piercing down there… I couldn’t stand the teasing much longer… And neither could Alpha… 

Soon, I felt his dick erupting inside of me… The feeling of being filled with his hot seed in combination with those magical fingers doing a phenomenal work on my cock induced a detonation of unbelievable magnitude… I had never known to this point that I could cum that hard… Seed went flying everywhere… Some even landing in Alpha’s open mouth… 

The fiery demon gave me an acknowledging gaze and smiled warmly… There was no need for words as he reached out his arms and embraced me… The both of us knew that something great had been accomplished… He carefully pulled me closer… Soon, I was lying in his arms… His fiery body was radiating heat to keep me warm… We were just lying there… Looking at each other… Aware, that we belonged to each other… All of us… This was our destiny…


	66. Equilibrium...

The next morning, I was still lying in Alpha’s hot arms… The demon was deep asleep and of course snoring like crazy… What a surprise! In moments like this, Omega’s words came back to me… Maybe I should indeed invest some money in a good pair of earmuffs… But I wasn’t mad… That was just the way Alpha was… And I liked every nuance of him… Even the snoring… 

I carefully freed myself from his arms and walked over to the massive windows overlooking the grounds… The sun was already high up… Meaning that I must have slept though most of the day… Only one full day left until my demons would contact hell and introduce me to their creator… I had to talk to Omega about that matter as the familiar nervousness was spreading through my body…

But right now wasn’t the time to worry about tomorrow… Since I was still sticky from all the cum and sweat of last night, I first of all needed to take a shower… I quickly grabbed some clothes and a fresh towel and headed for the bathroom… My senses came back to life once the hot water was running over my sore body… Once I felt decently awake, my eyes trailed down my body... 

The new silver jewelry was shining under the passing water… I simply had to touch it… A shiver ran through my body once my fingers came in contact with the metal bar… But that wasn’t enough… I needed more… I had to touch myself properly… 

A few minutes later, a deeply relaxed and relieved me exited the shower… I quickly dried myself and got dressed… While I put my shirt on, a thought crossed my mind and I had to smile… Alpha’s present really had improved many things… There was no way, I was not going to keep that thing…

But once I had left the bathroom, the nervousness was back… Since Alpha was still deep asleep, there was no way he’d be able to help me with that… I sighed and left my room… A few seconds later, I stood in front of the door with the large quintessence symbol carved into the ebon wood… I knew I wasn’t supposed to go in there, but I needed Omega… So, I knocked…

I didn’t have to wait long… Soon, deep blue eyes and a wide grin welcomed me: “Had a good night with Alpha?”

I couldn’t help myself but to smile back despite my increasing nervousness: “Shame you weren’t there… You would have loved it! It was great! Can I come in and talk to you? I hope I’m not bothering you and…”

A strong hand pulled me into the room: “You’re always welcome to talk to me! I wasn’t that busy with our guests… Only shepherding them to make sure nobody gets lost! Actually, I was expecting you much sooner!”

“It was a wild night”, I began to explain but got lost in the spectacle around me, “what is this?”

My eyes scanned the room… But the only thing that reminded me of being in a room was the ebon door I had just passed… Besides that, I felt like floating in space… In fact, my feet weren’t even touching the ground… Billions and billions of stars were surrounding me… Unveiling their beauty… And a mesmerized me was caught in the middle of Laniakea’s stellar dance… 

“What are these black ovals?”, I asked in wonder, “are these real black holes?”

“Well, some of them are… So, watch out for them!”, Omega explained, “others are portals to distant galaxies… I know my way around but nobody else does… That’s why it’s always better to stay out of here unless you’re in my company… You wouldn’t want to get lost, right?”

“But what about that witch and the wizards?”

“They’re right there!”, Omega said while pointing behind me… 

I turned around and after some time, I managed to spot the three figures somewhere in the distance: “What are they doing there? I thought you wanted to talk?”

“We talked!”, Omega chuckled, “but while talking, an issue came up… Well, we interrupted their meditation month… Since their existence depends on the very substance I’m made of, I offered them to serve themselves since this is the perfect environment to absorb everything necessary for maintaining their youth… I’m only here to observe… A couple of hours more or maybe even less and they should be finished… Enough about that… What about you?”

“Wait! Before we talk about me… Have you visited other galaxies and found extraterrestrial life?”

Omegas eyes sparkled in laughter: “Of course I have! You must know, that your predecessor sometimes banned us from leaving the house…”

“Seriously, he grounded you?”

“I know, it sounds crazy”, Omega said while rolling his deep blue eyes, “but he did! He never said anything about leaving this planet though… While he thought we were sulking here, I was actually exploring some very interesting places and getting to know their inhabitants…”

“So, there is life out there?”

“More than you think!”, Omega twinkled, “just very far away from earth… This planet is kind of a lonely outpost in this part of the galaxy… Well, a lot of the people I meet up with on my explorations laughed when I told them where I was coming from and told me that ‘our’ part of the galaxy is regarded as lifeless… Maybe one day, some of them will arrive here… Some of the scavengers I regularly met up with on this outlaw planet always joked that they’d come over for a visit… 

They had their own demon you must know… A very pretty yet smart blond-haired succubus… Mist was her name… She only reached a bit above my navel… She was the worst of them all… Really! The biggest drinker, the most seductive obviously and the sneakiest… She alone used to steal everything from wallets to entire spaceships… The only thing she never managed to steal, were my rings… Sadly, they are no more… All dead when I showed up there a few weeks ago…”

Omega caught my pitying gaze: “Papa, that’s the burden of being practically immortal… That’s just the way it is… Anyway, what bothers you?”

“About tomorrow night…”

“I think you should talk to Air”, Omega interrupted me, “he knows much more about stuff like that… I can’t tell you more than I already have… He used to study the higher dark arts with all their special rituals while he was still in hell… He was one of the main researchers and the driving force behind some of the mayor developments of the last few eras… Let me ensure you, he had a lot of time to commit to his studies! If you agree, I can bring you to him to talk properly and once you two are finished, you should spend your last night as a human being properly! Any ideas?”

I looked at Omega: “Talking to Air sounds like a good idea… Maybe, that will help my nerves… Do you have any ideas about tonight?”

Omega raised his scar-streaked eyebrow: “Isn’t there anyone you’d like to see? Friends or family?”

I shook my head… Most friends had turned their back on me after my mismanagement of Repugnant had come to light… And regarding my family, there was not much left… Luckily, I had a new family now… My precious ghouls…

“Or a concert or a club you’d like to visit?”

“I can’t show myself there…”

“What do humans do nowadays when they go out?”

I thought for a moment: “There is this new Indiana Jones movie in the cinemas… As a kid, I always used to watch the old ones… Maybe the new one is good as well…”

“Then the movies it may be!”, Omega smiled, “who are you going to take with you?”

“Shame that I can’t take Alpha… I’d like to see him hunting for treasures afterwards… I think I’ll ask Water… and maybe Linton… I know they can’t get along but amongst the demons, they’re the only ones that can go outside without a mask and I don’t know and trust Linton’s friends enough”, I spoke lost in thoughts… 

Then, my eyes trailed over Omegas face: “Wait! You should come along, too!”

“I can’t…”, the tall bulky demon began to protest…

“Yes, you can!”, a determined me said, “this a bit chubbier appearance suits you far better than these sharp jawline and cheekbones! Really! Don’t think I didn’t spot the change, my beauty! Unless you extensively show your lovely tongue and teeth to the public, you should be perfectly fine!”

In doubt, Omega looked at me: “I could just keep my mouth shut and additionally cover it with a scarf… But what about the scars?”

My eyes trailed over the prominent lines marking Omega’s face: “Everyone has their scars… Be it externally or internally…”

“But people will stare…”

“They always do! As long as they won’t spot anything demonic, they will just stare!”, I tried to assure my precious demon, “I won’t try to oblige you to come along if you don’t like people staring…”

“Fine!”, Omega interrupted me, “I’ll come along but only if we go out and eat before the movies! Deal?”

“Where would you like to eat? Let me guess, it has to be a restaurant with lasagna on the menu, right?”

Now, the both of us had to laugh… Whenever I had spotted the demon in the kitchen during the last few weeks, he had been either preparing or eating the Italian pasta dish he was so obsessed with… 

“Right”, Omega chuckled, “I want to eat a proper Italian version for once…”

“There is a good one not too far away from the movie theater…”

Omega and I shook hands to seal our deal…

“Can you reach heaven or hell with these portals?”, I asked out of curiosity…

“Sadly no!”, Omega answered, “heaven, hell and the world of the living are located on three different layers of dimensions… It’s hard to explain… Crossing from one to another is quite difficult depending on the direction you want to go and who you are… For example, it’s rather easy for an angel to come down to earth or for a dying soul to enter both hell or heaven depending on the things you’ve done in your life… But for a demon, it’s quite hard to come here in the first place… Someone in a desperate situation has to call for your help… Whoever it is, needs to believe in those words or prayers very strongly… But once you’re here, you can’t go back unless you die… Tomorrow, you’ll see how difficult it is to even contact those down below…”

But Omega went quite as the witch and the two wizards were approaching…

“We’re done!”, the bald grumpy wizard said, “demon, you didn’t promise too much!”

“Aksel, my love, is that everything you have to say?”, Fia, the witch, asked her companion and lover with a raised eyebrow, “what about a thank you?”

But the stubborn wizard remained quiet and instead chewed on his lip… Meanwhile, the witch rolled her eyes: “You must excuse my partner… He’s just too damn proud to behave properly… I, on the other side, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and hospitality!”

“What else should I’ve done?”, Omega laughed, “kicking you out and sending you back to the Himalayas?”

“You had every right to do that to Aksel here! I’m glad you didn’t do that to me! It would have been a shame to have missed all this!”, the other wizard, Rasmus, said with a wide grin and caught Omega in a fierce and totally unexpected embrace, “I hope we’re allowed to stay here for longer…”

“Of course you are!”, Omega said, “there is just one request I have right now: we’re in the middle of… something… Papa, some of the ghouls and I need to take care of a few things… If everything goes to the plan, we should be done by Saturday… You can hang around the grounds… Of course you can… But please stay out of the way….”

“You will not tell me what to do…”, Aksel began…

“Wizard”, Omega said with a sharp voice, “this is my house and my rules! Either you obey or you can leave! And if I may speak honest: a smile would suit you far better than always sulking!”

“That’s what we keep saying!”, Fia said while slapping Aksel on the back, “smile, my love! Smile!”

“Aksel, how many times have I told you to embrace life and see the world in positivity!”, Rasmus smiled…

While Fia and Rasmus continued to reason with the grumpy wizard, Omega silently maneuvered them out of his room and carefully sealed it once I was out there… We watched as the magic folk left towards the lower levels of St. Lucifer, probably heading to their rooms… 

“Come on!”, Omega said to me and lead me towards the door with Air’s symbol, “by now, Linton and Air should have had enough time to discuss everything! This is just ridiculous! I mean, they have been separated for more than 160 years but still, they were never really that close to lock themselves into a room for ages and talk… Especially Air… Even if he should have been in one of his annoying gossiping phases, it never ever isn’t enough to fill all those hours talking… And Linton would never share his entire private life with his father…”

Once we stood in front of Air’s door, I shoot a questioning glance at Omega: “Do you smell this, too?”


	67. Fear...

Omega took a deep sniff of the sweet scent wafted in front of Air’s room and looked at me with his deep blue sparkling eyes: “No wonder it has taken so long and they haven’t left the room… I wonder what and how much Linton has brought along… Let’s enter!”

With that, Omega pushed the massive ebon door open… A massive cloud of sweet smoke drifted in our direction… Even as an experienced smoker, I had to cough…

Omega and I exchanged glances upon spotting the spectacle behind Air’s door… Like in that church deep inside the woods, Air’s room was massive and mostly filled with tall shelfs aching under the weight of thousands and thousands of books… But this time, he had added a bit of a personal touch to the otherwise sparsely furnished room… Something that reminded me of a chemistry or alchemy laboratory was standing in one corner of the room, a bed and a chair-less desk were hidden in another and a set of black leather couches was located in the middle of the shelfs… Said couches were currently occupied by Air and Linton… In a state I had never ever dreamt of finding them…

Both were taking deep drags out of a large hookah that was standing on a small table between the two of them… The sweet scent of the intoxicating substance in the hookah was heavy in the air… It kind of reminded me of the sweet scent I had smelt during my last brothel visit many years ago… On top of that, I spotted several joints behind both of Linton’s ears… Somebody seemed to have planned a lot… Then, I almost had to laugh when Air took a deep drag of a very large joint that was being held by the delicate forked part of his long tail while the demon was busy massaging his own bare chest…

“Is that what you’ve been up to the last couple of days while I was busy playing host for YOUR friends?”, Omega asked Linton with his scar-streaked eyebrow raised…

Linton returned the gaze Omega was giving him with heavy eyelids while exhaling a big cloud of smoke: “You’re getting the wrong picture, dude! For the most part, we were and are talking… You know, sharing important father-son…”

“Stop kidding yourself!”, Omega interrupted him, “you might have talked, but now you’re only getting high…”

“One needs some relaxation!”, Linton protested very slowly, “well-deserved downtime with the one I hold most dear…”

“I can see neither Alpha nor the Fox!”, Omega snorted…

That was new for me… I wondered how many relationships were going on I didn’t know of… But sadly, Omega didn’t care to elaborate more for me… Instead he grabbed Linton and spoke to him: “Let’s find some of your lovers and park you there before you manage to poison your father with these substances! You had enough ‘downtime’ with him… Others need his presence, too!”

Air and I watched as Omega dragged Linton out of the room and closed the door behind them… 

“You want to talk?”, Air’s deep voice echoed through the room… This time, it was his real voice… Maybe, whatever he had inhaled, had loosened his tongue… I nodded my head in response…

“Sit with me!”, the tall demon invited me… I let myself fall on the couch Linton had previously occupied… I scanned the room nervously…

“With ‘sitting with me’, I didn’t mean you sitting there all alone in discomfort!”, Air chuckled, stood up and made his way towards me… He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants with a hole cut in the back for his tail… While walking over, he took a deep drag of the joint and exhaled an impressive cloud of white smoke that took the shape of ship sailing towards the ceiling on waves of fume…

“Here!”, he said and handed me the joint, “maybe that will help you calm down… Once were finished, I can give you something to get the THC out of your system…”

I thankfully accepted Air’s offer and took a deep drag… After such a long absence from that stuff, I felt the THC kicking in almost immediately… The world slowed down… Everything… It seemed to take ages until Air had finally sat himself down next to me… Everything turned… Everything got brighter… Even my thoughts as the nervousness disappeared… I absently realized Air taking the joint out of my hands before my eyelids decided to close themselves…

The next time, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in Air’s lap while his long fingers gently moved through the hairy mess on my head…

“You want to talk?”, Air repeated…

“Yes…”, was all I brought out…

“What is it, you want to talk about?”

I inhaled deeply but luckily, the nervousness didn’t return while I was speaking: “Tomorrow night…”

“Anything specific?”

“What will happen?”

“We will try to contact the Judge, our creator, and convince her to turn you into one of us so death won’t separate us that quickly and instead unite us for many years, decades, centuries and millennia to come…”

“But how?”

“It’s ancient magic… With the stones you have seen, the sigil stones in the basement of this mansion, we’ll try to generate a connection between the realms of the living and hell… Then, we will talk to the Judge, if we can reach her… We’ll try to convince her that you are the perfect fit for us and if we succeed, she’ll probably want to paint her own picture of you… You will be asked to enter the circle… Once you’re connected with hell, she’ll talk to you… Ask you about your motives and plans… How you found us… And stuff like that…”

“But after that… What if she doesn’t agree…”

“She would be utterly stupid if she doesn’t!”, Air cut me short, “you’re smart, kind, have balls and love us with your whole heart! She would never be able to find a better fit for us! On top of that, she lost us once… I don’t think she’ll risk that a second time! Just be yourself when you talk to her… Don’t lie… And please don’t mention too much of your sexual adventures with Alpha... If you follow these rules, you should be perfectly fine…”

“And if she agrees…”

Air sighed: “It’s hard to explain because it hasn’t been tried very often and succeeded even fewer… I know, that doesn’t sound too assuring but that’s how it is… Since it’s so hard to find people like you who fit into a group of demons so perfectly, not many of the Great 13 have given green light to any such attempts…”

“Who are the Great 13?”

I looked at Air who had closed his eyes…

“You’re asking a lot of questions, Papa!”

“Sorry, I just want to… understa…”

“Shhhh!”, Air said while putting a silencing finger on my lips, “asking questions is not a bad thing… It’s just a bit tricky to explain many of these ancient things… Even for someone like me who studied the dark arts and their history extensively…”

Air took a last deep drag of the joint and doused the butt with his fingers: “Not much of what happened in the early days has been written down since there was nobody around to do so… When the Devil was thrown out of heaven because he rebelled against his tyrant of a father, he created hell as a place of freedom and independence… Of course, the fight between the two continued… It still is going on and on… Back then, it was mostly the Devil against his Father… But the Holy Father himself soon sent others to fight for him…”

“Archangels…”, I whispered…

“How did you know?”, Air asked with a raised eyebrow…

“Too many hours reading obscure religious books and the internet…”

“Well, you’re right!”, Air continued, “the Holy Father always sent some of his thirteen archangels to make the life of the Devil a living hell…”

“I thought thirteen isn’t a heavenly number…”

“They have more in common than you think!”, Air twinkled, “except their core life philosophy… But a lot of symbolism and shit like that is very similar… Just take some of the biblical stuff… Originally, there were thirteen apostles on earth… But one of them, a now nameless woman, turned against them long before Judas Iscariot’s eyes had been opened about the true nature of his scum of teacher preacher… Well, enough of that dirty little book, after some time, the Devil had enough of these attacks and decided to create his own legion… Soon, the Holy Father had his thirteen archangels while the Devil had his Great 13… They fought side by side with the Devil… 

One day, the Great Behemoth discovered a way to create us demons out of souls that had gone to hell, sulphur and the ancient elements… For millennia, they had tried to find something to create an infernal version of the common angel… Now, they had the formula… On top of their fighting duties, the Great 13 initiated and later supervised the creation of demons… Soon, the first ‘common’ demons like us populated hell and thriving cities rose to the in infernal sky… 

I was amongst them… Created in an era when demons were supposed to look as different from humans and angels as possible thus explaining the horns and the tail… Later, the Great 13 changed their minds about our appearance… The Judge is one of the last six, if I remember correctly, still left… She together with Mammon is specialized in the creation of elemental demons…”

“What happened to the others?”

“Some obviously died in combat… Let me think…”, Air leaned back and closed his eyes, “I think two died in combat… If I remember correctly, the Great Harlot was amongst them and…”

“The Whore of Babylon?”

“That part of biblical scum was only made up to insult her legacy! She was a great and honest fighter and not a whore! She was captured in an ambushment by cowards who didn’t dare to fight us face to face… She was tortured to death as they were trying to squeeze the secrets of hell out of her… She never uttered a single word! The other one who died in combat was Behemoth himself shortly after he had discovered that method…”, Air continued, “the others died mostly while experimenting with the elements…”

“Experiments with quintessence, right?”

“Yeah! The Great 13 were very eager to create demons as strong as possible…”

“Even stronger than themselves?”

Air eyed me: “Indeed! And quintessence as the core substance of everything is the only way to achieve that… Neither of the other elements are suitable but quintessence… Our side has one big advantage: unlike us, the ones in heaven, including the Holy Father himself, have never ever figured out a way to tame the substance… Thus, Omega is the only…”

The tall demon abruptly turned quiet after that… Probably unsure if he had revealed too much… In fact, he had… And I wondered how strong Omega really was and what his role in the great game was and would become…

To bridge the awkward silence, I quickly asked: “But if seven of the Great 13 are already dead, isn’t the conflict between heaven and hell a bit… unbalanced? And what happens if all of them should be dead one day?”

Air’s dark eyes scanned me as if to determine how much I knew and had guessed correctly… Still he answered, obviously happy to get away from the sensitive topic: “The conflict isn’t that unbalanced… From what I know of, at least four of the archangels died in battle… One killed by the Judge herself… Wait! The last one that I know of, actually died on this planet…”

I raised an eyebrow: “When?”

Air laughed: “Almost exactly two millennia ago when the Holy Father decided to send one of his most trusted assistants down to earth to win the people… The very archangel was obscured as His own son… But the plan backfired…”

“You’re talking about Jesus?”

“Yes!”, Air chuckled, “that idiot didn’t even manage to succeed with his only mission… The very people he was supposed to convert put him on trial on religious agitation charges and executed him… And none of us, absolutely no one from hell, had anything to do with that! I don’t know how ordinary people managed to kill him, but it worked! You can’t image how much we laughed down below… Even more so when we read the tall tales his failures had been transformed into! Honestly, I can’t believe that people believe in this pile of shit!”

This confirmed the very thoughts I had felt upon my first contact with this religious nonsense when I had entered elementary school… Having been raised in an agnostic environment, all these stories of Good and Christ seemed to be nothing but tall tales… Even to someone as young as I was…

“I can’t image all the cover-up the Holy Father had to do to set things straight and to save his face”, Air continued while shaking in laughter.

“Me neither! And you’re sure he was an archangel?”

“Yes, though an incapable one from what I’ve seen and heard!”

“But what will happen once all thirteen, no matter which side, will have died?”

The cheerful mood once again disappeared: “That will never happen! The Devil always said, that should the number of the Great 13 drop below four, he’d create new ones and retire the remaining ones… Well, he could always replace the ones lost, but the very process will put him in a state of weakening… He basically can’t afford to risk that too often… Only when it’s absolutely necessary… He once said to me, he would only put himself in this sort of danger, if it’s really worth it… For him, that means only four of his thirteen left… I’m sure the Holy Father has similar strategies.”

“Meaning, that this will never end, right?”

“Yes!”

“Unless either the Devil or his Father would die...”, I thought to my myself but remained quiet…

Then, I continued to speak: “How do you know all this stuff?”

“I worked with both the Devil and the Judge for a very long time… Wrote things down, learned from them, invented stuff with them and fought with them side by side… From the moment I reached maturity to the moment Alpha and Omega were born! Well, I fought with them when we could still enter and exit hell as we liked… Sadly, the Holy Father found a way to constrain us, every resident of the dark realms, to hell… It is a lot harder to leave now… Even for the Devil himself and the Great 13… Even their names are banned from the world of the living… I can only speak those aloud that have died… The rest are monikers… Demons like myself can only come to the world of the living if somebody in desperate needs calls for us…”

“So, now that I know all about the Great 13, what will happen if the Judge should agree to… take things further with me?”

“Well, this is mostly theoretical or was only reported by various sources of different degrees of reliability…”, Air began, “but here is what I think will happen: first, a loose connection with your future sigil stone will form… Then, a shell of a soul will merge with yours…”

“A shell of a soul?”, my mouth had begun to work on its own, “what the hell is that for!?!”

“A human soul, unless it has properly passed the gates of hell after ones’ death, is not suitable for enduring the transformation and coping with the elements… Since we cannot put a whole second soul inside you since there is already one, this functions as a support… Nothing too tragic… It won’t affect your psyche… You will still be you! Then comes the painful part… Well, in order to become a demon and to absorb the necessary elemental power, the vast majority of your bodily substance has to be replaced and replenished with sulphur…”

“Will it hurt? I mean really hurt?”

Air looked at me with pitying eyes: “I simply do not know…”

“Anyway, and after that?”

“Since you, unlike us, will not be a naturally born demon, there is no way of getting the elemental substance inside you the usual way… We have to do it another way… Now comes the tricky part… The part where most can go wrong… You will receive a part of our elemental power… A bit of all five elements…”

“Won’t that weaken you?”

“For a short moment maybe… But in the long term, it won’t affect us… The opposite actually, since your transformation, if it succeeds, will strengthen us as a group…”

“Then what can go wrong?”

“The five elements in your body might clash with each other if you, or better your soul and for the most part your subconsciousness, shouldn’t be able to control them…”

My eyes flashed open as I stared at Air…

“Don’t worry about that…”

“Don’t worry!”, I snorted, “after what you’ve just told me…”

“Don’t get me wrong!”, Air tried to calm me, “I like to set things straight! I haven’t nor will I lie to you about any of this! That’s just how it is! It’s very risky… Dangerous… But there is one thing I haven’t told you so far! In fact, this is the most important thing: you have a strong and determined soul! You are clever and your connection with us, is everything one could wish for! If somebody will make it, it is you! Only you, Papa!”

A tear rolled down my cheeks…

“I believe in you! We believe in you, Papa! All of us!”


	68. The Last Hours...

I found myself in Air’s arms… I don’t know how long I had been there and how long we had talked… Now I knew what was coming and that all five ghouls believed in me… That was the most reassuring thing Air could have possibly given to me… 

Outside, it had already begun to darken…

Air looked at me with his dark eyes: “I hope I could help you and didn’t make things worse…”

“Thank you”, I said quietly, “for everything!”

For a while, nobody said a word…

“You should go downstairs…”, Air finally spoke, “the others are waiting for you… Here, let me help you to get that THC out of your system… For the records, this is nothing romantic!”

“What is not romant…”

But I couldn’t finish my questions, since Air’s lips had already crashed down onto mine… Perplex as I was, my mouth remained open… A good thing for the air ghoul, since there was nothing now that could hinder him from sucking all oxygen, and with that the THC, out of my lungs… Fractions of a second later, I coughed and desperately gasped for air… But my thoughts had noticeably cleared… 

“This was nothing romantic!”, Air repeated while wiping my saliva off his lips, “and now, go downstairs! Have fun! Don’t do anything stupid!”

He almost shoved me out of his room…

While I was walking down the stairs to the main hall, I was thinking about Air’s words… Indeed, they had calmed me but also enlightened me… Enlightened me about many things… Air’s knowledge was unbelievable… I wondered how much he knew… I should definitively talk to him more often… Although the demon was hard to talk to… But maybe giving him some ‘downtime’ including a hookah and some weed was the tactic to loosen his tongue… Time would tell…

“Good that you’ve finally decided to show up!”, Omega welcomed me, “we need to get going! Our reservation is in about 35 minutes!”

Soon, I was sitting in the driver’s seat of the new black bus we had bought… Omega was sitting next to me and constantly checking his appearance in the mirror and putting the scarf, he had slung around his neck and lower face, in different directions to determine the best scenario to obscure his mouth with the still sharp teeth he hadn’t managed to transform so far… 

“Stop it, Omega!”, I said after about five kilometers, “you’re driving me crazy! Nobody will detect you unless you decide to walk around with your tongue out…”

The demon looked at me: “I’m not Alpha!”

“I know!”, I chuckled, “that’s why I’m hardly concerned about tonight!”

“Okay, I will relax!”, Omega gave in, “but they better have lasagna on the menu!”

“It’s a damn Italian restaurant!”, Linton spoke from the back, “there is no way that’s not on the menu!”

“If you say so!”, Omega said and looked on his watch, “Papa, put your foot on the gas! Reservation’s coming closer!”

An agonizing amount of time later, I had finally found a free parking space… I cursed myself for insisting on using the car… I had insisted on going out the proper human way since it would be my last night out while still being one… Now, we were late… It would be impossible to get to the restaurant within five minutes… While I was locking the car, I felt somebody tapping my shoulder…

“Remember, I’m not sitting next to that savage!”, Water said while pointing towards Linton who was fixating the shy demon with hungry eyes, “neither in that restaurant nor in the movie theater!”

“Water, we already discussed that!”, Omega stepped in, “to a great extent! If necessary, I will sit between the two of you! I promise! What we need now, is to get to the restaurant as quickly as possible! Papa, I know you said you wanted to go without any form of magic tonight but let me please transport us there!”

I nodded my head and fractions of a second later found myself in a dark deserted alley leading towards the busy main street… Thanks to that, we actually made it… We were quickly led to our table by a nice young waiter… While the waiter disappeared with our drinking orders, Omega stared after him: “If the food in here is as fake as this sack of Swedish meatballs pretending to be Italian, I’m already regretting for having agreed to come along!”

Linton opposite of me rolled his eyes and looked up from the menu he was examining: “Italian restaurant means they serve you Italian food! The staff doesn’t necessary have to be Italian…”

“Is that so?”, Omega asked with his scar-streaked eyebrow raised, “I expected something more authentic!”

Linton shrugged his shoulders: “Not every Italian restaurant in the world is operated by Italians!”

“But if it says so, it should…”

Their arguments stopped once the waiter had returned with our drinks and had taken our orders… Omega had stared at the poor man the entire man and obviously was biting his tongue before he ordered a second drink…

“Omega”, Linton continued once the man was gone, “you just have to accept certain things the way they are! And please, behave normal! You’re freaking that poor waiter out! Remember, you’re not Alpha!”

Omega shot an angry glance at Linton: “I’m behaving normal!”

“No, you’re not!”, Water chuckled, “ordering a second drink before you haven’t even touched the first one just because you think these glasses are to small… Normal people usually do not do that! That’s etiquette!”

Linton smiled at Water: “Finally a thing we agree upon! Omega, you might know a lot about technology, diplomacy and speak all languages flawlessly, but you might be lacking the final touch regarding everyday human interaction and practices...”

I had to laughed: “The other day, he tried to shampoo me with shaving foam!”

Both Water and Linton had to hide their laughter…

“To my excuse, that was on one of my first days after we got out of that damn church!”, Omega protested…

“Once we’re home, I’ll give you a crash course in basic human behavior!”, Linton chuckled, “so, while Alpha will be busy writing his fantasies down and Earth is coloring his alphabet book, you will learn everything from restaurant etiquette and clothes ironing to manual driving…”

“I can drive a car!”

“Yeah, but you just sit inside and control everything with your magic!”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Linton sighed: “What will you do when the cops pull you over while you sit inside reading a magazine? Seriously, I watched you going around the property while sitting on top of the car! You can’t do that in public!”

I looked at Linton: “When did he do that?”

“Mostly when you were asleep!”, Linton answered, “played on those new guitars you got a few days ago while endlessly going ‘round the property!”

Enraged, I stared at Omega: “You never told me that the RDs arrived!”

Omega looked at Water for support, but the usually so shy demon wasn’t on his side: “He’s right, Omega! You can’t do stuff like that in public! And you didn’t tell me either! Seems like that savage is more reasonable than I thought he’d be!”

Linton looked smug while Omega stared at his watch to switch to another topic: “I’m hungry! Can’t they hurry!”

“They’re Italians!”, Linton snorted, “what do you expect? They take their time!”

Quite some time later, well, Omega had finally agreed to show me the RDs once we’d be home, the food finally arrived… But to Omegas disappointment, Linton and Water got served first… The tall-bulky demon longingly stared at their plates…

“Can we have a bottle of wine with that?”, Linton asked the waiter…

“Dry or sweet?”, the waiter began to ask…

“That sounds like a good idea!”, Omega cut him short, “I’d like to have something sweet!”

Water facepalmed himself as the confused young man wrote the orders down… That gave Omega the perfect opportunity to levitate a few of the tortellini off the shy demon’s plate into his own mouth… This all happened so quickly, that I almost missed it… But when Water returned his gaze to his plate, a good portion of it was gone: “Hoggish bastard!”

But the chomping Omega didn’t hear him as his plate had arrived… The tall bulky demon stared at his lasagna and back to the waiter and hastily swallowed the thieved tortellini: “Bring me another one!”

“Sir”, the poor man said with a quivering voice while also staring at the scars in Omegas face, “I’m deeply sorry for the inconvenience! I will take this plate back to the chef… But could me please tell me what’s wrong with…”

Linton put his fork down and rolled his eyes: “There is nothing wrong with it! He’s just a big boy with a huge appetite! He just wants another! Thank God he hasn’t smashed any china yet to declare his hunger!”

“Oh, okay!”, the waiter said awkwardly and quickly put the plate with the lasagna in front of the hungry demon… 

“What did I say a few minutes ago?”, Linton asked Omega who was already shoveling food in his mouth, “remember anything about normal human behavior?”

“I’m hungry!”, Omega protested with a full mouth, uncorked his wine and took a large gulp directly out of the bottle…

I knew that Omega was a big eater… But I had obviously underestimated his appetite… Linton buried his face in his hand and hissed quietly: “One does not drink out of the bottle in a restaurant! Especially not out of a wine bottle! Just use the damn glass and let the wine breathe!”

At least we weren’t sitting in the middle of the restaurant…

While Water, Linton and I were still eating, Omega, who had already finished his first portion and was waiting for the second to arrive, again reached out for the menu… His mood lightened up immediately: “Uhh! They have deserts!”

Water next to me stared down at his plate while Linton exhaled audibly: “The next time, we take Alpha with us!”

A few minutes later, the second plate of Lasagna arrived… The waiter placed it in front of the hungry demon: “Anything else, sir?”

“What about tiramisu?” 

“Double serving?”

“Yes, please!”

“Anything else for you?”, the waiter asked the rest of us… We all shook our heads and thanked him…

While the waiter was going off, Linton looked at me: “That guy deserves a generous tip!”

I agreed with that…

“Why did none of you order deserts?”

“Because I want to eat popcorn while watching the movie! I don’t want to be too full for that!”, I tried to explain…

But Omega had another opinion: “You have barely eaten anything! No wonder you’re that thin!”

“If you say so!”, I said while shrugging my shoulders… Luckily, the rest of our dinner continued without further incidents… Nobody detected us… Well, better nobody detected Omega… But I had to lie if I said the waiter was sad to see us go… He looked utterly relieved… At least he had thanked us for the more than generous tip… And probably hoped we’d never come back…

I relaxed once I was sitting between Water and Omega whose lap was loaded with a wide selection of snack items and a huge bowl of popcorn… Linton, who was sitting on the other side of Omega, leaned forward to talk to me: “I don’t think this will be any good! I read a few critiques of the movie and all agreed that it in no way lived up to the old trilogy…”

I shrugged my shoulder: “We will see…”

In the end, I had to admit that Linton had been right… This forth Indiana Jones installment was utterly terrible… Maybe I should have picked another movie… At least we had great entertainment… And I was not talking about the movie… Omega hated the action on the screen even more than Linton and I… After he had devastated most of the snacks, he had the great idea to shoot popcorn around with his magic… First, he only aimed at Water and Linton… But later, his target area increased, and people started to get frightened by flying popcorn and wondered where it was coming from…

Once the credits had begun to roll, the four of us left… After all, it had been a great evening… 

“That was bad!”, Linton said on the street on our way back to the car…

“It really was!”, Water agreed, “especially that scene with the refrigerator! Who comes up with shit like that?”

“I don’t know!”, Omega said, “hey, there’s a McDonald’s over there! Anybody hungry?”

“There is plenty of food at home!”, Linton snorted, “seriously, you cannot be hungry again!?!”

But Omega didn’t hear him… 

The only thing the tall bulky demon could scream before the bright light hit his quickly conjured energy shield was: “GET DOWN!”


	69. Attack...

One second, I saw a bright light hitting Omega’s shield… The next, I was hurled through the air by a massive blast wave… My flight was ruggedly stopped by crashing into a nearby car… The impact pushed all air out of my lungs… I saw stars as my head smashed through one of the cars windows… I felt how my body sank to the ground but that’s it…

I came back to consciousness as somebody was shaking me violently…

“Papa, wake up!”, I heard somebody screaming into my ear…

I slowly opened my eyes… It was Linton who was shaking me… My left eye focused on him… He was covered with dust… Something was off… Then, I saw his exposed artificial red eye... Something must have damaged its cover… But the vision in the right one remained blurry… My hand slowly moved upwards… I felt something sharp stuck in the right side of my forward… Without further consideration, I simply removed the shard of glass… More blood was now running down my face… 

“Here!”, Linton quickly handed me a piece of cloth he had torn off his shirt, “press that on there! And come wi…”

He was interrupted by a second blast though not as impactful as the first one... Still, I saw screaming people, pieces of people, cars and massive chunks of debris flying through the air… 

“PROTECT HIM!”, I suddenly heard Omegas voice in my head, “WATER AND LINTON: GET AWAY FROM THE FIGHT BUT DON’T DISSAPEAR! PROTECT PAPA! DO NOT HELP ME!”

“Come on!”, Linton grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away from the big crater in the street where Omega was floating inside his purple energy shield… I couldn’t turn away from the demon… The scene was apocalyptic… The impact of the two blasts had blown away the asphalt and the lower coatings of the street and had damaged several of the underground pipes including a water conduit… Most shops were in ruins… The McDonald’s, Omega just a few seconds ago had suggested to get some snacks at, was completely annihilated… 

The previously so busy and peaceful street was the utter chaos… Corpses were lying everywhere… Those who could, were fleeing from the scene… Their panicky screams piercing my ears… 

“We need to go!”, Water had suddenly appeared next to Linton, an unconscious woman on his shoulder, “Linton, is he okay? Can he walk?”

Both looked at me in concern… My whole body was hurting like hell… I tried to ignore it and pushed myself off the ground… Linton had to help me up but after some excruciating seconds, I was standing… 

“HURRY!”, I heard Omega’s voice again, “THEY’RE COMING!”

Eventually, Linton and I got moving and brought some distance between us and Omega… My right leg was hurting like crazy and I was leaning more on Linton than I was walking myself… Surely, there was something broken… But I continued until I couldn’t: “Linton, please, I can’t!”

The half-demon looked at me in concern, took a quick look back and turned back to me: “That should be enough!”

He leaned down to inspect my leg and conjured a sort of bandage of ice around it to both cool and support it…

“Stay here!”, he said, “I’ll see if I can save…”

He was interrupted by a third blast… In slow motion, I saw debris and sharp splinters of metal and glass flying in our direction… In shock, my eyes followed the flying objects while I said my last prayer… But luckily, the ones that would have killed us crashed against a shield of ice Linton had quickly brought up…

The half-demon cursed loudly and dragged me behind a few car wrecks… 

“Water! I need you now!”, Linton screamed desperately, “I can’t defend him alone! I need you!”

Meanwhile, the half-demon had hastily begun to conjure a circular shield of ice around us… He cursed even louder…

“Are you… okay?”, I asked even though I knew we were pretty far away from that…

“Okay?!?”, Linton spat out, “if Water doesn’t show up, we’ll be fucked! I can’t defend us alone! I’m not strong enough!”

“I’m here!”, the demon in question suddenly screamed… He had at least three unconscious, severely wounded people over his shoulder while being surrounded by a group of wounded, panicking and crying people…

Water looked at us: “Give me coverage and I’ll come over!”

Linton okayed that and counted to three… The people followed Water as he quickly made his way through the fire dodging all sorts of flying objects and car wrecks in his way… Luckily, everyone made it despite the debris still flying around caused by the latest blast aimed at Omega…

“I’ve never been happier to see you!”, Water said although with a slight sarcastic undertone…

“Put that away!”, Linton said with determination, “we don’t need that! We need to work together! Help me with that shield! We don’t have much time ‘til they’ll be here! Join me!”

“Look! I need to save those, too!”, Water pointed to towards a terribly screaming men on the ground whose legs were missing…

“We can’t save them all!”

“Yes, we can!”, Water said stubbornly and was about to run off… Luckily, Linton had grabbed him at the collar of his shirt and prevented him from storming off as another blast hit the streets before us only fractions of a second later and tore the screaming man to pieces and everything and everyone around him… Massive chunks of debris and dead meat crashed against the thin shield of ice…

But the shield remained standing… Although severely damaged and now with many large rifts… Water’s eyes were open wide in shock as he stared at the carnage in front of us and back to Linton… 

“Thanks… for… saving me!”, he eventually brought out…

“Thank me later! Help me with the shield or else, every single one of us will die!”

“But Omega…”

“Told us to protect Papa! Get going! They’re coming!”

And indeed, the bright light emerging from the sky was coming closer… The blasts getting stronger… Water eventually joined Linton and the both went on to strengthen the icy shield surrounding us… As the ice got thicker and thicker, I had an idea: “Maybe, we could call the others to help us…”

“We can’t reach them!”, Water said quickly, “none of us! Communication has been cut off! Nothing works… Something is shutting down every sort of signals and electricity… We’re on our own! Nothing works! At least we don’t have to worry about anyone filming this!”

“What is going on?”, an unknown voice shouted…

All three of us turned around to look at a young woman with curly brown hair… Blood was running down one of her bare arms… She must have been indoors when the first attack had occurred… 

“And what kind of misfits are you?”, she continued hysterically…

“Calm down! As longs as you’re with us, you will be fine!”, Water tried to calm her while Linton simply turned back to the action ahead of us as the bright light from the sky got closer and closer…

“But what are you and who is attacking us?”

“We’re demons…”, Water began…

“Let me go!”, she screamed, “God protect me from these devils!”

Water shot a questioning glance towards Linton while the woman was banging against the icy shield: “Did I say anything wrong?”

“She’s a damn Christian! Didn’t you see her necklace?”

“Ohh”, was all Water said since his next words were drowned by another blast and the hysterical screams of the woman…

“Hey, Christian woman!”, Linton suddenly yelled once the thundering noise of the latest blast had faded, “it’s not us who attacked and killed all those people! Water here even saved you! We didn’t start this! We’re not the enemy! It’s them! The ones you believe it! They don’t care about you, whether you’re alive or dead!”

“Let me go!”, she screamed…

“Fine, I’ll let you go”, Linton spat out, “but let me warn you: once you’ll be outside this shield, you’ll be as good as dead, and nothing will sa…”

What followed, was the severest blast so far… Literally entire buildings collapsed… Car wrecks crashed against the ice shield… As were gigantic pieces of concrete, stone and metal… The drone in my ears was unlike anything I had heard so far… 

But then, I heard this unspeakable noise… My brain just couldn’t stand it despite my desperate attempt to cover my ears… I felt my legs giving in and hit the ground face-first…   
When I opened my eyes the next time, I saw that everyone inside the icy shield was equally lying on the ground and covering their ears… 

“What the hell was that?”, I screamed out…

“High angelic!”, Linton yelled back, “they’re telling Omega to surrender!”

“Since when do you speak high angelic?”, Water asked in surprise…

“Only understand it! Dad taught me!”

“Air speaks high angelic?”

“Learnt it when it wasn’t an exclusive and restricted language!”

“Why did he teach you?”

“Thought it might come in hand on the run!”

“He never told…”

But Water’s next words were cut off by the action ahead of us as an increasing number of energy blasts emerging from the approaching white light hit Omegas purple shield… The face of my dear ghoul was contorted due to the shire labor to keep up his defense… But so far, he had withstood every attack… Although he slowly lost footing and was pushed further towards the crater underneath him that used to be a busy street…

Suddenly, the attacks stopped and the bright yet cold light, the source of the attacks, faded… Only to reveal the two most unappealing and disgusting creatures I had ever seen…

“Shit!”, I heard Water next to me mumble…

“Who is this?”

“Gabriel and Samael!”, Water began, “they…”

Before he could elaborate more, he was cut off by the another set of screams in their horrible language… Giving me time to inspect the two archangels despite my hurting ears…Their appearance alone made my hair stand on edge and froze the blood in my veins… There was nothing, absolutely nothing, sympatric, warm and positive about them… From the shining white armor and silver wings to their pale white skin and hair… Their cold eyes were filled with hatred and anger as if they’d like to see nothing more than the world burn at their feet… 

Behind me, the woman with the cross screamed again…

“Cover your ears!”, Linton screamed, “or it will drive you insane!”

Much to my surprise, the woman obeyed…

“Better?”

She nodded her head in response…

Despite the many injuries, I couldn’t explain the feeling of relief once these filthy feathered monkeys had stopped to yell in their language…

“What did they say?”, I asked Linton…

“They want to know how Omega got out of that church… Want him to surrender…”, the half demon began, “they’re furious that one of us managed to escape from their prison…”

“They haven’t seen us?”, Water asked…

Linton shook his head…

“Did Omega understand them at all?”, Water wondered…

But the question was soon answered as Gabriel’s cold voice, now in Swedish, thundered through the devastated street: “Samael, I knew we should have been more careful!”

“Gabriel, there is no way one of them could have escaped! Your trap was and is impeccable!”

“Then why is this piece of demonic scum here and not in that church?”

“Maybe it’s not him?”

“Samael, that’s him! I would always recognize him wherev…”

“Are you two bitches done?”, Omegas voice cut them short, “what do you want?”

“Gabriel, did you hear that?”, an upset Samael spoke, “’what do we want’ did he say!”

“Demon, we want one thing only”, Gabriel hissed angrily, “we want you to tell us how you got out of that church and then die!”

“That would be two things already! Can’t even count, can you?”

“Don’t aggravate us! If you play along, we might grant you a peaceful death!”

“How nice of you!”, Omega snorted, “I can’t image anything better!”

“Be grateful for those years we spared you…”

“Because you couldn’t kill us!”

“We could and we would have if we hadn’t been busy hunting that nasty demonic half-breed!”

Both Waters and my eyes turned towards Linton who in turn only shrugged his shoulders and said: “Somebody had to keep them busy!”

“If it hadn’t been for that freak one of you so kindly gave his seeds for, we would have…”

But we never got to know what Gabriel was about to say, since Omega set one of his wings ablaze with a well-aimed shot of purple flames: “I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”

“THEN YOU WILL DIE!”, the enraged archangel yelled back while he was trying to extinguish his wing… Meanwhile, Samael attacked my dear ghoul who in turn fired back… Omega seemed to be doing well…

At least until Gabriel joined the fight… The longer this fight went on, the less frequent Omegas attacks got… Both archangels were bombarding my dear ghoul with a multitude of attacks… The noise was unspeakable as their attacks clashed against Omegas purple shield, tore deeper holes in the ground and sent concrete, glass and metal flying everywhere…

“We need to help him!”, Water said next to me…

“No, we’re here to protect Papa!”, Linton stopped him, “I’m sure Omega has a plan!”

I wondered what that plan would be, as Omega lost more and more footing due to the increasingly aggressive attacks… Soon, Omega was only defending himself as his feet got closer and closer to the street or what used to be a street… 

“SURRENDER!”, Gabriel screamed…

“NEVER!”

What followed was hard to put in words or even in thoughts since everything happened so fast that it was almost impossible to gasp… The street was illuminated in the bright light of the so far most aggressive and fastest series of attacks… The angelic bright light was everywhere causing nothing but mass destruction… 

“We need to help him!”, Water repeated, “or he will die!”

“No, he has a plan!”, Linton said although not as certain and confident as before…

Ahead of us, Omegas purple shield got weaker and weaker as more and more attacks crashed into it… The demon’s face was contorted in effort… His feet only centimeters away from the ground while the archangels had gotten dangerously close… Suddenly, the shield began to flicker… 

“WE NEED TO HELP HIM!”, Water pleaded…

This time, Linton said nothing…

I closed my eyes… He was right… 

I was about to open my mouth in favor of Water, when Omegas heavily distorted voice echoed through my head: “Papa, stay there! Don’t help me!”

“No!”, I grabbed Waters arm to keep him by my side… With the other hand, I reached out for Linton’s… 

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for what happened next… Omega’s words were the only reason I didn’t jump up as a massive blast of white light hit Omega square in the chest and catapulted him through the air… He crashed hard against some massive blocks of concrete and remained lying on the ground… 

The street turned silent… All eyes stared at the unconscious demon… Something was odd about him… The weird angles of his limbs… The way he wasn’t moving… But something else…

“We didn’t help him!”, Water next to me whispered and buried his head in his arms… Linton and I stared at the scene in shock…

Meanwhile, the archangels had landed and were leisurely making their way towards Omega… The bright light around them illuminating the street…

Once they had gotten close enough, I saw what was odd… Omega had turned into his natural demonic appearance… His skin and hair all black… His lines sharper… His clothes, although torn in many places and drenched in blood, back to the demonic uniform he had worn back in hell… 

“See, that piece of shit isn’t as strong as everyone is made to believe he is!”, Gabriel spat out and shot another attack at Omega… The demon only barely managed to get his hands up to defend himself with a weak shield that faded immediately after the attack… At least, he wasn’t dead…

“You got weak during all those years in the church!”, Samael jeered and equally attacked my ghoul… This time, the bright light hit Omega straight in the face…

“No, they can’t kill him!”, a desperate voice cried out behind of me through the following attacks on my demon… I couldn’t bare the scene in front of me and turned around just in time to see the Christian woman toss her necklace with the cross pendant away in disgust...

“I denounce you, you asshole in the sky!”, she cried out, “Devil, I want you to safe me and take my soul! It’s all yours!”

She then grabbed Linton’s hand and quietly began to mumble: “Please, demon, make it!”

Then, the attacks stopped, and Gabriel’s cold voice cut through the air: “Omega, I give you one last chance: Tell me how you got out of that church and I will grant you a painless death!”

“No!”

Water’s body was shaking next to mine through the new waves of torturing attacks… On the other side, tears rolled down Linton’s cheeks… My heart was breaking… I couldn’t take this any longer… I didn’t even know if it was a good or a bad thing that Omega wasn’t screaming at the top of his voice as his body got tortured and mutilated… I closed my eyes and hoped for it to be over…

“TELL ME!”, an angry voice made me open my eyes, “TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT!”

An angry Gabriel had gripped Omega by the front of his torn uniform and was shaking the unconscious and heavily bleeding demon violently while yelling these words all over again… 

“Samael, come!”, Gabriel ordered his partner in crime, “help me to get it out of him!”


	70. Something Greater...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost happy New Year to all of you!
> 
> It's getting closer to the end...

With eyes open wide, I watched as Samael made his way towards Gabriel and the unconscious Omega with a gleeful expression on his face…

“Demon, you will talk!”, he spat out… Only a few meters parted them… I didn’t even dare nor wanted to imagine what would happen next… How these disgusting misanthropic flying moneys would torture my poor demon…My heart was beating heavily… Samael was so close… Too close… I closed my eyes…

The next time I opened them, only fractions of a second later, something was different…

Instead of hanging there half-dead, Omega was standing on both of his feet, a hand around both archangel’s throats… The shock in both Gabriel’s and Samael’s face was obvious… I had to cover my ears as both were screaming in their native tongue while attacking my demon with their bright white blast waves…

But this time, these attacks didn’t seem to bother Omega… Instead of being hurled through the air or wounded severely, the attacks simply recoiled from his body thus loosing their effect… 

The pages had turned… I could feel it… With every atom of my body… Something ancient, something that wasn’t supposed to be seen, felt or witnessed at all, was being unleashed… Something that had never occurred on the surface of the realm of the living… Something that would change everything… 

The body of the tall bulky demon in front of us turned purple… His entire body… First only faintly… Than more and more intense until the street was illuminated in a bright violet light… Whatever he was doing, I could feel it… Could feel what little of the magical quintessence substance that was rooted within my body being extracted and absorbed… I would have given Omega so much more to defeat the enemy… 

Ahead of us, the archangels had stopped fighting back… Maybe they couldn’t… Who knew… But maybe, Omega’s power had grown too strong… Even for them being the Holy Father’s most powerful henchmen… And Omega wasn’t even done… He was still charging up… Still absorbing massive amounts of his element from everything and everywhere… Space…. Earth… Who knew…

Then, I felt something changing… One second, the entire quintessential power had been concentrated on Omega alone, the next, it was expanding… From my limited position lying flat on the ground behind Water’s and Linton’s shield of ice, it looked like the archangels, well, better their hands, since these were their first body parts coming in contact with Omega’s quickly expanding wave of quintessence, were crumbling away…

I rubbed my eyes… Indeed, parts of their bodies were disintegrating… Falling into ruin… Leaving behind nothing but a faint silhouette of what once was… 

“He really separated their souls from their bodies!”, I heard Linton whisper next to me, clearly in awe…

I watched until there was nothing left… Only translucent shimmer of Gabriel’s and Samael’s souls remained, still controlled by Omegas bare hands… Nothing but a faint blurry remnant of what once was… Their screams had faded since there was no body, no vocal chords, left to utter a single sound or noise… Nothing to express their fear… The street was dead silent… For the first time since the first blast had occurred, nobody was screaming, and nothing was being shattered, torn or annihilated… 

But that changed… Never ever in my life, I could have imagined hearing something more horrific, ghastly and downright misanthropic than those screams that cut through the silence…

“What is this?”, I screamed in terror…

“He opened the gate!”, Linton yelled back while pointing in the direction of the remnants of the archangels…

My eyes shot wide open as I spotted the expanding portal, reminding me of the many I had seen in Omega’s room only a few hours ago leading to distant galaxies… The portal was quickly increasing in size… As were the screams emerging from whatever dimension and destination this portal led to… Like something wanted to get out of there… 

Once the portal had surpassed the height of a human being, Omega let go of Gabriel’s and Samael’s souls and pushed them forwards… Straight through the portal which closed immediately once the souls had passed…Leaving behind nothing but Omega emitting the dazzling violet glow…

It felt like this moment lasted a lifetime… The tall bulky demon just stood there… Breathing heavily while staring at the moon above… 

Then, the violet glow faded… Though slowly… Until only the moonlight painted the streets in its light… After a while, Omega turned away from the moon and slowly stumbled in our direction until he finally stood in front of the dirty icy shield that had protected us from all the debris, glass and steel…

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, only a few… minor injuries!”, I replied with a hoarse voice…

“I’ll take care of that once the shield is gone! We should be save now!”

But nothing happened… I looked at Linton…

The half demon replied my gaze: “It’s not me… Water…”

Linton then jumped up and kneeled next to Water, who had still buried his head in his arms…

“Water”, he said calmly while gently stroking over his hair, “it’s over! We’ve won!”

But the tiny demon was violently shaking his head… Linton looked up at Omega…

“Water!”, Omega said loudly, “I’m alive!”

Suddenly, the shy demon jumped up… The ice shield was gone within seconds, leaving me in a puddle of icy cold water and Omega in a fierce hug… 

“Need a helping hand?”, Linton offered… I nodded my head and was pulled on my feet…My broken leg was shaking underneath me since the ice cast, Linton had conjured, had melted…Both Linton and the former Christian woman had to support me…

“Water, I’m fine! You can let go of me! I’m very much alive and have no intention to let myself being killed anytime soon!”, Omega said with a chuckle but also with a concerned expression in his face as he was observing me, “wounds need to be taken care of!”

Finally, Water let go of the tall bulky demon…

“How the hell did that happen?”, Omega asked while examining my leg and the big wound on the side of my head hat was still bleeding rather heavily…

“He crashed against a car”, Linton answered…

“Sorry I couldn’t help you…”

“Don’t blame yourself!”, I interrupted him, “without you, none of us would be alive!”

Omega remained quiet after that… But his rings once again started to glow… Fractions of a second later, my leg wasn’t shaking anymore and the wound stopped bleeding…  
Carefully, I put some weight on the formerly injured limb…

“Well, Air might need to spend a second glance at it, but it should be fine for now… Healing isn’t my specialty…”

“Thank you!”, I said while wildly throwing my arms around the demon, “thank you for everything!”

“If you’re done”, Linton’s voice cut through the air, “we need to go as soon as possible! We’re not safe here!”

“There won’t be angels anytime soon”, Omega said…

“But reporters, police and God knows what kind of scum! You can’t tell me they’ll ignore an event of mass destruction such as this one! Sensationalists as they are! Please tell me, you aren’t that delusional!”

“No, I’m not!”, Omega replied, “once I’ve eradicated the severest kind of destruction and restored some the street and buildings at least a bit, and…”

“You’re sure you can do that after what you’ve just done?”, a concerned Linton cut him short…

“Yeah, I haven’t had a headache yet…”

“Really?”

“Yes!”, Omega protested, “well, only a light one… Nothing compared to the one the last time I opened the gates to this horrible place!”

Linton raised an eyebrow…

“I’m fine!”, Omega tried to ensure him, “I’ve got nothing that will stop me! A bit of moving stuff around and repairing shit won’t stop me or shut me down and neither will a bit of memory delet…”

“Wait!”, a voice cut through the cold air, “you can’t just erase all our memories! We deserve to know the truth… I mean it means so much to me! You just showed me that everything I used to believe in is nothing but lies!”

“Who is this?”, Omega asked Linton…

“Water saved her and the rest from the archangels”, Linton answered, “she used to be a Christian but changed her mind once she saw how those feathered monkeys were slaughtering the innocent and torturing you…”

“Please!”, the woman said while throwing her arms around the tall bulky demon, “please, don’t take that memory away from me! It means so much to me! I don’t want to live in a prison of lies! Never ever again! I don’t know about the others, but I don’t!”

Omega, Water, Linton and I exchanged looks…

“What about the rest of you?”, Linton finally asked the remaining people, all of whom were covered in dust, more or less injured and looked like they’ve just gone through hell and back…

Without exception, all insisted on keeping their memories…

Omega’s and my eyes met: “Well, you could modify their memories like you did with the major… They’ll remember everything but cannot openly talk about it…”

“I could”, Omega began…

“Don’t overstrain yourself”, Linton warned him after everyone had agreed, “we don’t want you to lose your control…”

“Linton, one last time: I’m fine!”, Omega exclaimed before his rings started to glow again… First, huge chunks of debris, glass, metal and concrete began to move around… After a while, the scene ahead of us looked more like a street again than a war field… Now, it didn’t look like total annihilation and destruction but more like a few medium sized bombs could have devastated the once so peaceful and busy street… 

Then, Omega briefly explained what he was about to do to the witnesses and began to modify memory after memory while also taking care of some of the severer wounds…In the end, it hadn’t taken more than six or seven minutes to complete everything… Including the memories of those who had already fled and had seen the demons performing their powers…

“Well”, the tall bulky demon said, “I think we’re done here… Thank you for your trust and… and… Well, you know how to contact us if you need anything… I think we… should go now…”

“But shouldn’t the world know about you? About the truth behind everything?”, the formerly Christian woman threw in…

A small smile crossed Omegas scarred lips: “Not yet, my dear! Not yet! But time will soon be gone. Right will turn to wrong. Winds come on strong and you’ll set free. One day, the whole truth will come to light.”

An expression of understanding appeared on her face: “Thank you so much for opening my eyes for I who have been blinded my entire life. You shall know, that you’ve made a friend tonight! I am Clarice! Forever at your service!”

“Nice to meet you!”, Omega said with a smile.

“Before you go, what shall we tell the police and the press?”

Omega shrugged his shoulders: “Don’t know… Well, you could tell them that you heard these Arabic screams and seconds later, everything you remember were these explosions… Usually, it’s not my style to blame somebody for something he or she hasn’t done but in times like this… It should work since these extremists always tend to blow up stuff and some terror militia will easily take responsibility… It’s only a suggestion…”

“Thank you!”, Clarice said, “thank you so much…”

That was all we heard before everything went black… Fractions of a second later, I found myself in the big entrance hall of St. Lucifer...

“Water, Linton, get the others!”, Omega commanded, “we need to get going! We need to initiate Papa now! The quicker, the better! I’ll be downstairs to prepare everything! Remember to…”

“No!”, Linton interrupted him, “you just fought and annihilated two archangels, opened a portal you weren’t supposed to open, reconstructed more than a few sheds and modified quite a few minds! I know that expression on your face! You’re tired and don’t tell me that you only have a light headache! You’d be lying! Omega, you need to rest before you guys can contact hell and try to initiate Papa!”

“But we have no time!”, Omega protested…

“I know that better than anybody else!”, Linton said, “I also know how much energy and concentration it takes to generate a connection to hell, let alone a possible initiation! You can’t do that without full control over your powers! You’d either fail or something would go horribly wrong! We only have one chance and you wouldn’t dare risking it, right?”

“Yeah, still…”

“You just agreed!”, Linton smiled, “for the last time, I know, we’ve got no time, but we can’t do it without full control over your element! I have a suggestion: how about you take a nap? We’re fairly safe here! I think an hour in your special room would suffice. Meanwhile Water here could get Alpha and Earth and the three of them could prepare everything downstairs and…”

“What about Papa and you?”, Omega said with a raised eyebrow, “you’re not abducting him, right?”

“Why should I? Omega, we’re on the same page! I want this as much as you do! I’m only taking him to my father for him to look at Papa’s wounds! Nothing more! Of course, we’ll tell Air about tonight! Once you’re done resting, pick us up and we’ll start the ritual!”

“Okay!”, Omega finally gave in, “Water, you know what to do and don’t forget to light enough incense! Tell Alpha to dress appropriately and Earth to behave himself! Papa, I’ll see you in an hour!”

With that, he disappeared…

Water looked at us, shrugged his shoulders and said: “He’s a though nut to crack… Linton, about tonight: It was a pleasure working together with you and… and… thank you for… saving my life!”

The shy demon remained quiet for a long time before he finally added: “Maybe, things will change between the two of us… For the better of course… I think I should get going…”

Fractions of a second later, he, too, was gone…

Linton looked at me: “I only want to repeat myself: I have no intention to prevent the initiation ritual, but I need you to talk to my father! There is something you need to know!”

“But you said he needs to look at my wounds?”

“Yeah, that too!”, Linton said while we walked up the stairs towards the ghoul’s dormitories, “but first and foremost, there is something I think you should know before you agree into any of this!”

“What do I need to know?”

We stopped in front of Air’s door and Linton gazed at me with his mismatched eyes… Only then did I realize that the cover of his artificial eye with the red laser was still broken…

“Well, this all is part of something greater… Something of undreamt magnitude!”


	71. Connections...

Linton knocked against his father’s door… His knuckle had barely left the massive wood after the first knock when the door already swung open… Air stormed towards us, still bare-chested, his waving forked tail behind him and a worried expression on his face…

“Explain!”, he grabbed his son’s arms and dragged him inside the room, behind a row of massive book shelves. I followed and seconds later, found myself in front of a massive TV monitor connected to an expensive looking laptop… I didn’t even know Air owned such technology nor knew how to use it… But that question could wait… 

“Explain!”, Air once again said while Linton and I were staring at the monitor… SVT1 was on there with a live broadcasting from the very street we had just left… Police forces were arriving, securing the scene, taking care of people, collecting body parts and trying to assess the whole situation despite the chaotic conditions on the street while the reporter was trying to explain what was happening… Ambulance after ambulance and police car after police car arrived… But once more, the media had been faster…

“…Just moments ago, a series of detonations and explosions have been reported in the center of Linköping, Östergötland”, the reporter began, “when we arrived here…”

After that, the reporter broke with her professionalism and began to describe the scene with a shivering voice…

“Explain!”, Air said for the third time…

But Linton’s and my eyes were glued on the screen as the camera perspective changed and a familiar person came into view…

“I… I don’t know… what happened exactly… Everything went by so fast!”, Clarice, the formerly Christian woman said while the camera was focusing in, “I was inside a restaurant when the first explosion occurred… Everyone ran outside since the building was shaking and we feared it would collapse… Outside, I heard people screaming… Some in terror, others I think in Arabic… Then, the next detonations… I can’t remember how many… Screaming people passed me… Dead ones were lying everywhere… I… I thought I would die…”

“Miss! Come with us! You’re in shock!”, a paramedic followed by two policemen came into view, put a blanket over her bare shaking shoulders and gently tugged her off camera… The scene soon moved back to the reporter who continued to describe everything… In the back, officials were trying to calm the shocked people, treating their wounds, bringing them to the nearest hospitals while others were taking pictures of the scene, assessing the mayhem and destruction and trying to figure out what had happened on that very evening in the usually so peaceful city of Linköping…

“Goddamn it son! Explain!”

Linton and I both stared at Air…

“Father, we were attacked shortly after we…”

“By whom?”

“Archangels! Gabriel and Samael attacked us out of nowhere! We were just walking down the street back to…”

“Where are they now?”

“Omega separated their souls from their bodies, opened the gate and sent them to that horrible place…”, Linton’s voice cracked after that… 

Air’s black skin in front of us grew pale and he whispered: “Which gate?”

Linton took a deep drag of air before he finally answered: “To the…”

I wasn’t able to understand whatever Linton had said since it was in another language… But not the demonic language… Something rather Germanic… Both father and son remained quiet for a long time until Linton finally said: “Now I know what Water meant when he told me about the first time Omega opened that gate…”

“What gate did Omega open? I couldn’t understand the name!”, I asked, “and what’s so special about it? There were just screams coming out of there…”

“Just screams!”, an upset Air snorted, “these weren’t just screams! You have no idea what kind of…”

“Calm down, dad!”, Linton interrupted his father, “nothing happened this time! Just explain it to Papa!”

Air was still quite upset, but he explained: “I told you about the three layers of existence: Heaven, hell and the world of the living between the two of them… When Omega annihilated the savages who raped Water, he accidentally opened a portal to a fourth dimension that shouldn’t even exist. It’s an ancient, long forgotten world… It’s a world of eternal suffering and pain…”

“What did you call it?”

Air looked at me and sighed: “I found old references to this world in even older books in the Devil’s library, but in our language, this world has no name nor is a lot known about. Not many know that it exists, even fewer know a way how to get there and nobody except Omega has ever returned… Well, the term that fits most closely, is “Reich der fahlen Seelen”, a term stemming from ancient German cosmology translating to the realm of the pallid spirits…”

“What exactly is this realm?”

“Nobody knows for sure… Omega and I conducted a bit of research after he’d opened it for the first time… Our guess is that an unknown ancient being created it long before the Holy Father was born to get rid of his enemies… Omega contacted a few souls there that had been suffering there for unimaginable amounts of time… Lacking a physical body, they cannot leave there unless a portal to this world, the world of the living, is opened long enough for them to escape… Intuitively, Omega did the exact right thing when he separated the rapists’ souls from their body and sent them there… Their souls will suffer there forever…”

“But you said if you keep the gate open long enough, they might…”

“We don’t know and it’s better not to risk anything!”, Air explained, “I don’t want to imagine what might happen if the soul of an ancient probably mad being breaks out of there and gets to the world of the living… Did everything stay in there?”

Both Linton and I nodded our heads…

“Good!”, Air said, “Linton, please tell me everything!”

And while Linton was informing his father about the last hours, my mind was on fire thinking about that fourth dimension… 

“Air”, I asked once Linton had stopped talking, “if it’s so dangerous and risky to open a gate to this realm, why didn’t Omega just kill the archangels? I mean he would have been powerful enough…”

Air’s dark eyes fixated me: “What happens to a soul after its physical form has been killed?”

“Well, it goes to heaven or hell, right?”

“Correct!”, Air said, “if Omega had just killed Gabriel and Samael, their souls would have gone straight back to heaven and the Holy Father would have known everything by now! That’s the last thing we want, right? Sending their souls to this horrible place was the only way to both kill them and keep us hidden from the Holy Father… And to be honest, they deserve to suffer… More than anyone else!”

“And Omega has been there?”

Air nodded his head: “But only once… Said that’s the most horrible place he has ever visited… Nothing but pain, torture and endless sorrow… I told him not to go there but he didn’t listen… Returned after only a couple of seconds… He asked me how long he’d been gone… For him, these seconds there felt like an eternity… So, in addition to all the suffering, time, too, works different there to drive you even more towards madness…”

I looked at Air: “I don’t ever want to go there nor experience another opening to this dimension!”

“Hopefully, it won’t be necessary!”, Air said, “but speaking of necessary, I think we should get downstairs to start the initiation ritual! I think that’s what Omega wants to get over with as soon as possible, right?”

“Yeah!”, Linton said, “but before, Papa needs to know something!”

Air’s eyebrow shot up: “What?”

“The things you told me the other day… During our father-son time… The Devil’s plan…”

“Why should he know?”

“Only to be perfectly clear about his choice!”, Linton said, “you yourself said that you would prefer to know about the significance of the decision Papa is about to make if you’d be in his stead!”

“Are you trying to make me change my mind?”, I asked boldly…

“Certainly not!”, Linton said, “I just think it’s better to enlighten you about the significance of your decision and the impact it might have!”

“What exactly has the Devil in mind once I’m one of you? Should I dress as an anti-pope, dance around and try to create my own devilish personal cult in order to annoy the Catholic church?”

Air’s eyebrow shot up: “This for once isn’t all about you!”

“What else?”

“Something much bigger than annoying the earthen outposts of the Holy Father!”, Air explained with his deep voice, “listen carefully! No word ever leaves this room! Apart from the three of us, nobody knows…”

“What about Omega?”

“I don’t know how much the Devil has told him or how much he has guessed correctly…”

“Why don’t you tell him?”

“Because what I’m about to tell you is the last possible thing Omega wants to hear…”

“Has it something to do with Alpha?”

Air laughed: “For once, this has nothing to do with Alpha and the mines…”

“You know about that?”

“Of course!”, Air chuckled, “I’m older than you think! When I was younger, it was common knowledge and an open practice… But luckily, not anymore! I’m surprised, that Alpha told you…”

“Alpha and mines?”, Linton asked, “what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, son! Nothing! And don’t ever ask Alpha! Never mention that!”, Air commanded with a thunderous voice while fixating his son… After Linton had sworn to keep quiet, Air turned back to me: “About the Devil’s plan: A long time ago, the Holy Father managed to ban the Devil from entering heaven… He can’t get there on his own… On top of that, the Holy Father managed to confine His son to hell for most of the time… In short: The Devil can only very rarely set foot here anymore and it takes a great toll on him…”

“You want me to bring him here?”

“No! Once again, this isn’t about you! At least not entirely”, Air smiled, “if he’d wait long enough, he’d be able to do that by himself. We’d only increase things… Time-wise at least… The important part comes once the Devil is here… For ages, the Devil has been very eager to face his Father to set things clear once and for all… Sadly, the Holy Father doesn’t have the balls to leave his save haven, therefore leaving only one way…”

“Breaking into heaven…”

“Precisely!”

“But how do you know…”

“Well, the Devil never really talked about it, but I’m neither blind nor stupid!”, Air answered, “I collected evidence over the years… Read the books the Devil got out of the library, listened, observed and counted everything together…”

“What is my role in all of this?”

“You will be a key figure if the transformation works out… The Devil needs a strong power on earth… Since we’re the only ones here, that’d be us… You’d be able to unleash this power… Without your consent, we’re powerless… If you don’t agree into any of this, nothing will happen…”

“And if I agree and the transformation works out?”

“If everything works out, we could get the Devil here… A group of demons is always the strongest, if all five elements are assembled and united by their Papa Emeritus…”

“Papa Emeritus?”

“Your title once you’re a demon! You will be able to control us to a certain extent but also strengthen us… Together with the Devil and our full powers, there is a great chance we might get into heaven and fight the Holy Father! I hope this doesn’t scare you… Since you will hold the power to change history in your very hands…”

Air’s words were rushing through my system, when suddenly a question formed that I spoke out aloud: “But why does Omega not want to hear these things…”

“Well, they’re only theories…”

“That’s not the breaking point!”, I interrupted Air, “who is going to fight the Holy Father? Is it the Devil? Or will Omega be the one?”

Air looked at me with his dark eyes: “That’s the question I’m asking myself ever since I reached this point of knowledge! Will the Devil and Omega fight side by side, maybe even with us, or will the Devil fight alone… Or will the Devil use Omega as a weapon? I don’t know! And that’s what bothers me the most since…”

“…Omega doesn’t want to talk about it”, I finished the sentence.

“Yes!”, Air said in frustration, “that’s the breaking point! If there’s one thing that Omega hates even more than injustice, it’s being regarded as something special… And discussing that topic would surely trigger something… On top of that, Omega is very proficient at avoiding any discussion concerning this delicate topic! As much as I hate to say that, but I just think we need to let the things happen as they go…”

“Then if you can’t do anything, what was the whole point of telling…”

Air snorted: “To make you aware what kind of role you’ll play in this whole game! If we should get to a certain point, if the transformation should work out and we’ll get the Devil to earth, you will be the only one with the power to either allow or prohibit the fall of the Holy Father, understood?”

I swallowed heavily…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike the rest of the mythological, religious and historical background of this story, the "Reich der fahlen Seelen" isn't actually based on real mythology... It's only a song by a band called Imperium Dekadenz that I really like and, well, I needed a name...


	72. The Judge...

Minutes later, I found myself on the stairs, Air by my side… Meanwhile, Linton was waking Omega, who much to our surprise hadn’t showed up yet… Maybe his demand for rest had been bigger than the demon would ever admit… Neither to himself nor to anybody else…

“Air, what does Papa Emeritus mean? Specifically Emeritus?”

“That you’re dead!”

“Will I die?”, I asked with a shivering voice…

“Sort of! But don’t worry!”, Air said calmly while walking down the stairs, “it’s necessary for the transformation to take place… Like I explained it before… A human body won’t cope with the situation… Won’t cope with the elements unless it’s enriched with sulphur…”

“Then why the name?”

“It’s a joke!”

“A joke? I don’t understand…”

Air chuckled: “Papa is the title for a very high ambassadors of the Holy Father in the world of the living… The Pope of the Roman Catholic church, the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox or the Ayatollah of the Schiites would all be examples… Ages ago, one of the Great 13 came up with the name Papa Emeritus… Our version… An ambassador of hell… Preferably a human who later turned himself into one of us… A human who had ‘retired’ his or her past in order to become one of us… A human turned demon… That’s where the term ‘Emeritus’ comes into place… It’s supposed to be a joke but…”

“…it’s a one rather hard to gasp”, I said with an eyebrow up…

“I know! For most people for sure but down below it’s like the funniest shit ever… Never mind…”, Air said once we reached entrance hall, “is everything ready?”

“Yeah!”, Alpha said, “everything’s… re… ready…”

“Really?”

Alpha, Water and Earth nodded in unison… The three of them were already dressed in their black cassocks… But without their masks in place…

“What are you going to do?”, the Fox asked, the witch, the two wizards and the zombie standing at his side, “why all the secrecy? You could at least tell us…”

“We’re trying to turn Papa here into one of us!”, a raspy voice thundered through the hall, “if you want to to know why, just turn on the TV… Heavenly forces detected us… We were attacked… Sadly, we have no time to explain more…”

All heads in the hall turned towards Omega who had appeared at the top of the staircase…

“Come on!”, he said while floating towards us, “we need to get going! We already wasted too much time!”

Once down the stair, he headed straight towards the corridor with the hidden passage which seemed to opened magically once the demon had entered the very corridor… 

Omega stopped at the stairs leading downwards: “Niels, this is where our ways part… You and the others cannot go down there! I’m afraid you must wait here! Wish us luck!”

The vampire nodded in silent understanding and took a step back… But somebody else obviously wasn’t…

“Why can’t we go down there?”, Aksel, the grumpy wizard, protested…

“Because you’re not a demon and neither will become one in your lifetime! The protective charms down there would tear you to pieces!”, Omega explained as his brothers were already passing him on their way downwards, “to make sure nobody even tries, I’m going to seal this! It’s nothing personal… Only for your own good, Aksel! Papa, get moving! Niels, until then!”

But before Omega could do anything, a loud scream echoed through the hall: “Wait!”

Linton was sprinting towards us: “Don’t go without me!”

“You still can’t enter the ritual hall!”

“Yeah, I know!”, he gasped out of breath, “still, I want to go down with you and wait in front of the hall! I want to be the first to know! And Omega, did you really have to disappear? You can’t just leave me behind!”

In the end, Linton walked down with us… A quiet walk it was… Everyone, even Air, seemed to be nervous… After what seemed to be an eternity, we reached the bottom of the stairs…

“So, that’s it…”, Linton said quietly…

“Yeah, see you soon, son!”, Air said, “hopefully!”

“Let’s go!”, Omega said… Seems like he had no time to lose… 

“Brother!”, Alpha said, “I… know… you’re… eager… but… where… is… your… cassock?”

A smile appeared on Omega’s face: “Alpha, I never ever would have though that you’d ever tell me to dress appropriately! These are strange times… Thank you for reminding me!”

Fractions of a second later, he and the up to this point bare-chested Air were wearing the exact same black cassocks they had worn when I had come across the demons on that crucial day in the church hidden deep inside the woods…

Omega then turned towards me: “I’m really sorry… But I forgot this!”

He handed me a bundle of white clothes…

“You need to wear this and nothing else for the initiation”, he said with a guilty expression on face, “if I’d remembered, I would have told you earlier to change in private… We can turn around if you…”

“Don’t worry!”, I said swiftly while tossing the bloody leather jacket away and pulling the dust-covered and equally stained striped shirt over my head, “I’ve slept with half of you and honestly don’t give a shit about showing my body!”

With that, I started to unbutton my dirty and bloody jeans… Still, all demons turned around once I got to my underwear… All but Linton…

“Nice dick!”, he said appreciatively, “didn’t know you were into piercings! Especially not down below! Papa, you’re a brave man!”

“Down below?”, Omega turned around with his scar-streaked eyebrow raised, “the last time, there wasn’t anything down below!”

“Yeah, there wasn’t anything!”, Water, too, had turned around...

The two demons looked at each other and said in unison: “Alpha!”

The fiery demon turned red and stared at his feet…

“Did you really do that?”, Omega asked in wonder and then, fixated me, “and you agreed into such action, Papa? You know that’s not sanita…”

“It’s so cool!”, Water interrupted the tall bulky demon, “the next time, please invite me! I’ve got so many places in my mind that demand an equal treatment…”

“Enough of piercings!”, Air dark voice cut through the dark hall, “put that robe on and let’s get going!”

I threw the white fabric over my head and tried my best to get it in place…

“Socks, too!”, Omega said with a soft voice…

I sighed… Moments later, the white robe was the only piece of clothing left… I shivered as my bare feet were standing on the cold marble… I would have preferred if the socks had stayed on: “Why? Now, I’m freezing my ass off!”

Omega gave me a pitying look: “Maybe Alpha can do something about that! Since he mutilated you, he can at least keep you warm! Right?”

Alpha eagerly nodded and seconds later, I felt my poor feet heating up…

“So, that’s it”, Linton said again… He hugged one demon after another, even Water, and wished them plenty of luck with what was about to come… At last, he slapped Alpha hard on the back: “Pet, don’t even dare not making it! Your punishment in hell will be nothing but infernal should we meet there again! So, make it! Understood?”

“Yes, master!”

Omega turned around in laughter…

I would have done the same, if it wasn’t for Linton who was staring me in the eyes with one normal eye and his pulsating artificial red one that still hadn’t been repaired: “Good luck!”

We stared at each other awkwardly… 

The half-demon was caught in surprise by my fierce hug: “Linton, thank you for tonight! Thank you for keeping me safe… And your trust! I promise, we’ll see us soon!”

The only one left to say goodbye to was Air…

Father and son embraced each other for a very long time while Air obviously was whispering into his son’s ear… After an eternity, their bodies parted…

“Father”, Linton began with a rather hoarse sounding voice, “this time, you’re the one leaving… Not me… I made it despite all odds… You will, too!”

I might have seen tears forming in Air’s dark eyes, but I wasn’t sure… And before I could focus, the tall demon had already put his mask in place… As had the others who were already entering the big hall with the sigil stones at it’s center... Omega sealed the doors behind us… Leaving Linton all by himself…

In comparison to the last time I had set foot in this part of the mansion, the hall wasn’t pitch black but illuminated by thousands of candles… The smell of incense was heavy in the air… 

“Hey!”, Omega stood in front of me… As of now, he was the only of his brothers still unmasked and not standing right next to his sigil stone… He grabbed my shoulders: “Listen, there are a few things… Well, we’ll first try to contact hell… See, if we can reach the Judge and establish a stabile connection… You’ll have to stay out of the circle… Only enter when you’re asked for… Understood?”

I nodded my head…

“Look!”, Omega said while putting his ringed hands on my cheeks to lift my head up, “we will make it! We trust in you! I trust in you!”

I stared into his kind eyes as he kissed me… His deep blue orbits sparkling with love… The three prominent lines of scars that marked his perfect face the only thing disturbing his beautiful appearance… 

Then, the kiss was over… My lips lonely… The masquerade in place, and my demon was walking away to take his position… I longingly stared after him… Hopefully, we would be united soon… Hopefully sooner than later… Now, the only thing left for me was watching… 

And so, I watched as Omega took his position… As if by an unspoken command, all five demons lifted their arms… An eerie chant in what I assumed to be the demonic language filled the hall… The only thing I could compare this to, were the ancient chants that I once heard being performed by Eastern Orthodox priests… Old remnants of even older darker times... I listened in fascination as the low unworldly tunes echoed through the hall making my hair stand on edge… This was how I imagined a proper black mass would look and feel like…

For a long time, nothing happened but the chants… Then, the lines in the ground between the sigil stones the demons were standing on or rather floating above were beginning to glow… First, only faintly… But the intensity soon increased until bright red lines in the ground were connecting the five stones… Meanwhile, the chants were perceptibly intensifying… And what felt like an eternity later, climaxing on this one note… It wasn’t a high note and neither a very low one… Something in between… Yet something so intense that it would be still ringing in my ears and the marrow of my bones minutes later…

Then, something changed… I smelt it before I could actually see it… The smell of sulphur mixed with the incense already heavy in the air… Seconds later, I knew why…

Because the ground between the sigil stones had opened up… Revealing an infernal abyss… Hot sulphurous vapors emerged from within… Every breath I took felt toxic in my lungs making me feel slightly dizzy… But in this moment, I didn’t give a shit about my health… All I cared about was the abyss ahead of me… I wondered how deep this opening stretched… If it really was a direct passage to hell… Or another portal… But nobody told me anything… 

Now that the chants had stopped, it was dead silent in the hall… None of the ghouls were moving… The only thing I could hear was the nervous beat of my heart and the blood rushing through my system… I would have given everything to know what was happening inside the circle… To at least know whether they had successfully contacted hell and their creator… But my desperate calls weren’t heard nor answered… 

So, I had to wait… Much like Linton… With the only difference that I at least had a visual… I couldn’t have imagined the nervousness of waiting outside the door… It would have driven me mad… But in contrast to me, Linton was used to waiting… 160 years he had waited for his family to return… Only to let them go again… To let them participate in this act of madness… But it was necessary… For the greater good if we succeeded… And so, I waited and waited… 

I wasn’t prepared when I faintly heard Omega’s raspy voice in my head: “Come! The Judge has agreed to meet you! Just enter and get to your future sigil stone in the middle! An opening will appear momentarily… And don’t look downwards!”

I gathered all the courage I could and got moving… Indeed, seconds later, an opening appeared in the circle surrounding the sigil stones and my demons… I stepped inside, and the opening immediately closed… There was no way back now…

I inhaled deeply… Although I regretted that immediately as the sulphur got into my system… Inside the circle, the concentration of the substance was a lot higher than on the outside… I slowly took forward one step after another while trying my best to not look downwards…

But once again, curiosity had won over reason… I froze as I stared into the deep abyss underneath me… It must have been an illusion… Because if not, I must have been falling downwards… Still, what I saw was utterly frightening and disturbing… Humanity simply wasn’t supposed to take a glance straight into hell… My gaze trailed downwards… Further and further downwards the infernal nest… Too deep to see the end… Only lava, sulphurous fumes, ash, stone, metal and infernal heat…

I closed my eyes and moved on… I tried not to watch downwards again… After an eternity, I finally reached the defunct sigil stone in the middle of the other five… I carefully stepped on the stone that soon would hopefully be mine…

The moment, I was fully standing on there, the stone underneath me came to life… It only began to glow faintly, but it was enough to set things going… Fractions of a second later, I felt myself being pulled downwards into the abyss…

My stomach was protesting… But eventually, my fall came to a halt… But much to my surprise, I wasn’t standing in the middle of Mount Doom or on the plains of Gorgoroth… Instead, I found myself inside the middle of what looked like the hall of an ancient castle… Black candles were burning in the chandelier above me… The fireplace on one side spent a generous amount of warmth… The windows were covered by thick black curtains… A sparsely decorated altar was located opposite the fireplace… The lithic ground was uncovered… The same sophisticated pattern as the one in the world I had just left carved into it…

Besides that, well, and my five demons, the massive room seemed to be empty… Nothing moved… The five demons seemed to have turned into statues… My eyes continued to scan the hall for any sign of life while my heart was pounding… The blood rushing through my veins while the sulphur burned inside my poor lungs… 

“You’re the one they call Papa!”, a cold voice spoke, “how nice of you to finally turn up!”


	73. Initiation...

I nervously shot around as my eyes scanned the room… But no matter where I looked, there was no one there… My eyes flashed over the alter… Back to the fireplace… And back… Still nobody in sight… Then, when I was about to turn around one more time, my heart stood still…

“Fuck!”, was all I uttered while my heart was thundering in my ears…

A giant of a guise obscured by several layers of an enchanted magic black lightweight fabric that seemed to be floating through the air had just appeared a few meters ahead of me…

“I’m here!”, the cold voice echoed through the hall…

I was about to say something to express my anger, but bit my tongue and instead uttered with as much respect and sincerity as I could: “Thank you for meeting me, your honor! May I address you with your title?”

The guise in front of me chuckled: “No curses? And no imprecations? On one hand, I’m disappointed because I gave this welcoming quite a few thorough thoughts… On the other, I’m deeply impressed! Finally, a human being with manners who isn’t afraid to show backbone! To answer your question, as of now, you may address me with my title outside this world… If you have proven yourself worthy, I will tell you my name, understood?”

“Yes, Judge!”, I replied, “but before you test me, may I ask you one question?”

A cold laugh echoed through the hall: “My demons told me you were a man of many questions! But curiosity isn’t a sin! It is rather a gift! A precious gift if I may add! Ask me your question!”

“Why do they call you ‘The Judge’?”

I could feel her eyes on me: “None of this leaves this room, understood?”

I nodded my head…

“Because I was judging the souls of those who demanded entry to hell! But not every soul is worthy to be here! Sometimes, souls get lost and accidentally, rarely intentionally, end up at the wrong destination. I granted or denied passage. I still supervise that process in addition to my other duties. Well, when the Holy Father prohibited the usage of our names outside hell, my name choice was an obvious one as you can imagine. Satisfied?”

“Yes!”, I said quickly, “very enlightening!”

“You can talk to me normally!”, the Judge spoke, though much kinder, “I’m not some scary relative or royalty who demands to be corrupted with over-excessive etiquette and fake courtesy! So, how did you find my demons?”

Slightly relieved, I told her everything from finding the maps to my little hiking trip…

“Very interesting!”, the Judge commented on my story, “what made you decide to help them out of their misery?”

“Well”, I began but decided to let my tongue do the work for me, “out of love… Out of sympathy… I’m mean, they were very kind to me when I got there… At least Alpha and Omega… The others opened up later… Well, I would have never gotten over leaving them there… Never… They deserved so much better than getting confined to that hell of a place… Better than a delusional asshole who treated… ehh… abused them like slaves… Better than angels who tried to kill them… I simply had to help them!”

“You love them, right?”

“More than anything in the world!”

“Even their flaws?”

“That’s what makes them loveable! I don’t aspire perfection… Perfection leads to vanity and misanthropy… Basically everything the ones high above strive for… All I want, is to love and be loved!”

“Then why do you want to become one of them?”

“I’m sure they told you about the attack…”

“In great detail…”

“I don’t want to lose them… Don’t want them to die… Since I’m the weak spot of our group, that makes me the easiest target… If I die, all six of us will be dead… I don’t want to be the easy target… The stronger I am, the safer we are!”

“You don’t want to rule? Have people at your feet?”

“I’m not interested in such things!”

“Really?”

“I mean if people would admire US… not me… for our art, for OUR music, that would be nice… But not because of suppression as a result of abuse of power… I want humanity to be free… Want US to be free… And safe… If I’m weak and I am weak as I stand before you, WE will never achieve that!”

I felt her eyes on me… I could feel that she was trying to determine the truth in my words… She had every right for that… Despite the pressure on my shoulders, I felt oddly calm… I knew that I had spoken the truth… As long as I’d control my despicable tendency for greed, everything what I had said would be true… 

Then, she silently moved around me… I didn’t dare to move… Didn’t even realize that I was holding my breath… I was thinking about my precious demons… My beloved demons only… Suddenly, I felt her cold and long boney fingers on my shoulders and her whispers in my ears as she rubbed the salt into my wounds with a precision that couldn’t have been greater: “But what if fame and greed get into your head, little human? What if fame gets stronger than love?”

I tried to swallow my fear: “I will not let that happen! The prospect of fame ruined me once… Destroyed all the friendship and love I once had… I learned my lesson the hard way… I will not let that happen again!”

“Do you swear right here, right now, before the Devil?”

“I swear!”

“Pray that you will never break that vow! It will only lead you to madness and will ultimately destroy you!”

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply: “I will not let that happen!”

I suddenly felt her cold and long boney fingers squeezing my shoulders: “I trust you since my demons have faith in you! I think this will work… Really! I just needed you to swear this vow and mean it! It’s just a safety arrangement if things should get out of control… You wouldn’t just give anybody a deadly weapon without something to control it, right?”

“Ehhh… yes…”, I began to stutter…

“See!”, the Judge spoke swiftly, “now that we’re through with that, we can start, right?”

“Ehhh… yes”, I began again, “but there is one thing if I may ask…”

“Ask!”

“Since you have seen me… Me and my true inner self… Might it be possible to see you… properly…”, I asked with a shivering voice, “see you face to face…. Just like you said you had to paint yourself a proper picture of me before agreeing into anything… I, too, want to paint myself a picture… And right now, that’s just a scary voice hidden underneath thousands of layers of cloak…”

Once again, I had spoken without thinking… Screw my loose tongue…

But the Judge only chuckled: “Why do humans always have to see faces? Didn’t the Holy Father speak to Moses? ‘You shall make no idols’ was the second commandment he stated! Didn’t listen carefully, did you?”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m only toying with you!”, the Judge chuckled, “I’ve no problem showing my face! Much unlike the Holy Father!”

The corners of my mouth twitched in silent laughter…

“Unlike him, I’m neither afraid to show myself nor do I have problems with my self-esteem”, the Judge continued, “there is just one problem… I have many faces!”

“But you must have one you prefer over the others… One that is your own…”

“Yeah, a handful… Which one would you like to see? The one that scares Alpha shitless?”

“I’d love to see that one!”, I chuckled, “but I’d really like to see your favorite face… The one you’re most comfortable with!”

“Give me a second”, the Judge spoke and turned around…

What would she look like? Like an old witch who could freeze the blood in you veins? A child? Innocent and pure? Or like a goddess? Otherworldly in every sort of way? A female devil? There were so many options… And this would only be her favorite face…

When she turned around, the first thing I spotted were her hands… They were still long and boney… Additionally, they were also wrinkly… The skin pale… 

Those hands moved upwards to pull back her hood…

“This is your favorite face?”, I exclaimed…

“No!”, the Judge chuckled, “only the face that scars Alpha shitless! He calls this version of me Sister Imperator in private.”

I laughed: “Alpha’s afraid of an old grandma?”

Opposite of me, the equally boney face of an old woman with a stern expression had appeared in the layers of the black fabric… Her greyish white hair tied to a stringent knot on her head… Her grey eyes shot a piercing glance at me… Her nose thin and uncinal… Her lips only a thin straight line… Her skin lacking every bit of color… She looked like a bitter person who hadn’t left the house in many years… 

“I mean”, I continued, “you certainly don’t look friendly like that but…  
”  
The corners of her mouth twitched to form a faint smile: “It gets the job done! I only wanted to show you this little trick… Now you know what Alpha’s nightmares are all about… angry grandmas! Enough of that, this is what I really look like… At least most of the time!”

The furrows in her face smoothened… Her grey hair grew longer… The knot loosened and seconds later, shiny thick ebon hair fell over her shoulders… Her skin turned even paler… To an immaculate and even surface… Her lips grew fuller… Now a deep dark red… Her nose straightened… What remained were her piercing eyes… Not grey anymore but a shining red… She was beautiful… 

My jaw dropped: “You look like… like Red Riding Hood had accidentally turned herself into a vampire or bathed in a tub of blood…”

The Judge smiled: “I have no idea what you’re talking about, human! But the expression on your face tells me you’re liking what you see, right?”

“Well, yes!”, I stuttered ‘til too caught in the beauty ahead of me, “I hadn’t expected that… I mean the way you look… To find beauty in such a dark place…”

“Hell isn’t a dark place…”, the Judge smiled, “if you’re looking close enough!”

“And I’m so glad that I did that!” 

“I think we should begin with your transformation, now that you’ve seen me and looked close enough, right?”

“But what about your name?”, my tongue worked on its own again, “you wanted to tell me…”

“Elizabeth Báthory!”

So, I hadn’t been that wrong with bathing in a tub of blood and expressed my thoughts…

Elizabeth laughed upon hearing the tall tales that had been spread about her on earth: “They honestly tried to turn me into the scariest woman who ever lived? A royalty who bathed in the blood of hundreds and hundreds of virgins to maintain her youth? Is that everything they managed to come up with? What about quartering or impaling?”

“There is already Vlad the Impaler…”

“Whoever that is”, Elizabeth interrupted me, “the next time we meet, you have to tell me more! I must share this story with Belial! He’s such a sucker for the latest gossip and lies spread about us in the worlds of the living! I’m sure this is new to him! Did I at least suffer a cruel and brutal death according to this story?”

“I think you died in solitary confinement…”

“How boring! No public execution?”

I shook my head…

“Did I at least poison some wells? Or curse the clergy? Or whored around with the nobility and gave birth to a ton of bastards?”

“As far as I know, you only murdered virgins…”

“So trite!”, Elizabeth said while shaking her head, “I think I need to send a letter to the creative department of heaven… Shows me again, that only incapable morons are working there! Anyway, let’s begin! Before we start, you don’t have to do anything but endure the procedure! I’m sure Air has told you about the three steps, right?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, just don’t leave that sigil stone! Remain standing and you should be fine! We will do the rest! Please undress now! That robe will only be a hassle!”

“Isn’t it important for…”

“No!”

“Then why did I have to wear it?”

“Worldly fabric would have burned on the way down here and you’re not allowed to wear proper demonic clothes yet! Please undress now!”

For the second time this night, I stripped naked…

Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up upon seeing my naked body: “What in the name of the Devil is this all about?”

“It’s for pleasure…”

“Whose idea was it… to put… metal bars through these sensitive spots? Please don’t tell me this was Alpha?”

“Actually, this was Water’s idea…”

The Judge ahead of me looked even more surprised now: “She… I mean he came up with the idea…?”

“Yes, we did that together…”

Elizabeth laughed: “That demon is full of surprises!”

“Indeed, he is!”

“Well, let’s get over with it! Shall we?”

I nodded my head…

“Just that you know, none of the boys heard any of this! This stays between the two of us, right? I’ll inform them now that we will try it!”

Seconds later, five cheerful voices filled the room… Yet I could decipher none of what was being said… Only one sentence uttered by the Judge: “Get ready, Papa!”

Fractions of a second later, the cheerful voices were silenced… All light in the room gone but the faint glow of the five sigil stones underneath my demons and the pulsating red eyes of the Judge… She lifted her arms and began to speak… Ancient verses in the demonic tongue echoed through the room sending shivers down my spine… I had no idea what was being said… But I could feel that something was in the room… Something was in the making… My hair stood on edge as I waited for something to happen…

And indeed, something did happen… The dimly luminous sigil stone underneath me came to life… First only faintly, but the longer the Judge kept speaking, the stronger and brighter the glow got… The shine kept expanding… Enveloping me in a silhouette of light… The silhouette became clearer… Its form increasingly defining… At the same time, the light converged towards my body… Then, the light and I simply merged… Light and body became one… If I hadn’t seen it, I probably would not have felt it… 

I lifted my hands… They didn’t look any different except for a faint white glow that seemed to descend form my skin… 

The only difference beside that, was a feeling of safety… I felt like being cocooned by something protective… Probably not physically but mentally… It wasn’t like something was lurking in my mind… Rather something patrolling around it to protect it… Like a newly built stronghold defending my mind and soul… If I had guessed correctly, a shell of a soul had just merged with mine…

“You’re okay?”, Elizabeth suddenly asked, “can we continue?”

I stared into her red eyes and nodded… Still too taken to utter a single noise…

Her chants continued… Though darker and deeper… The sigil stone underneath me, too, turned darker as did the room around me… Gone were the lithic walls that had reminded me so much of a castle… Again, it felt like falling downwards through the gorge of a volcano… Further down the infernal nest… 

My fall came to halt once the sigil stone had reached a dark red color… The landscape around me was apocalyptically infernal and how I had always imagined hell to look like… 

A black sky above me… A barren lifeless volcanic landscape surrounded me… The fumes of sulphur heavy in the air… And this time, I could feel the heat for real… Infernally hot air wafted past me… My body wasn’t made for this kind of temperatures… Soon, it would be… Hopefully… If not, I would be dying pretty soon… But I remained standing… Every breath of air brought more and more of the toxic sulphurous fumes in my lungs… 

I barely realized, that the chants of the Judge had climaxed… Suddenly, my feet felt infernally hot… And felt like long and sharp needles were puncturing them… I cried out in pain and jumped from one leg to another… But it didn’t help… The pain increased as more and more spots on my feet got affected… I had expected it to be painful… But not like this… And the pain wasn’t only externally… It reached all the way in… Affecting my muscles, bones, veins, nerves… Everything…

I flinched and had almost left the sigil stone once the first sting hit the fingers of my left hand… I violently shook it… But it didn’t numb the pain as more and more punctures tortured the fingers of the very hand… I brought it in front of my eyes to inspect it… The spots on my fingers that had been affected looked horribly burned and had turned to an oddly blackish yellow… That must be the sulphur… I would have screamed… But that wouldn’t help me…

I tried to ignore the pain as best as I could as it moved upwards… Once the stings had reached past my knees, I simply had to look downwards… A hot wind clashed against my face as I stared into the abyss below me, emerging from the infernally sulphur mines right below the sigil stone I was standing upon… My feet had turned black… As had most of my hands… 

It had taken an endless amount of time to get to this point… I had lost every bit of sense of time… But there was one thing I knew for sure: If this procedure would continue at this torturously slow speed, I wouldn’t make it… I would either leave the sigil stone or collapse… Or simply die… The pain was simply unbearable… The heat… The sulphurous fumes… The stings… Every cell of my body was aflame or would be soon… Altogether, a toxic mixture that was more meant to end me but to safe me… And the worst was still to come… 

I closed my eyes as the first particles of sulphur hit my lower torso… Once again, I tried to ignore the pain… But that proved to be impossible… The further and further, the pain was breaking me… Memories of my failures flooded my mind… The faces of those I had disappointed and betrayed mixed with the pain… All those painful memories… The ones that I tried to forget… I didn’t know what hurt more… The physical pain or those memories… All my life, I had run away from myself… From the things I had done wrong… Now, they were overtaking me… In the moment of my life where I could least risk being confronted… 

My burned hands shoot up to hit my head… A puny attempt to silence these voices… Which of course didn’t work… It only baited the first particles of sulphur… Infernal pain flashed through my left eye and its surrounding areas… This time, I screamed… At the top pf my voice… I only screamed louder as the faces of those who I had wronged continued to flash through my mind… Only at a higher speed…I was so done… Physically and mentally… 

But if I wouldn’t make it through this, neither would my ghouls… 

That wasn’t an option!

Never!

And suddenly, a light appeared in the depths of my dark thoughts… I reached out my mind… Tried to gasp it… Stretched my mental fingers out… High above my head… Blindly reached out for the light… Suddenly, I felt something pulling me upwards… Leaving the pain, sorrow and guilt behind… I opened my eyes… A pair of ringed fingers had pulled me up… Tears of luck ran down my cheeks as the images of my ghouls surrounded me…

Air’s dark orbits fixated me… Even now, Earth couldn’t hold still… Water was laughing shyly… Alpha’s tattooed fingers formed rude gestures… And not even the three longs scars could take away any of the kindness that was being emitted by Omega’s beautiful face and especially the deep blue crescent moons that were filled with nothing but love… 

I didn’t know if this was a memory, an illusion or real… I didn’t care what it was… But as long as I would be here, nothing could hurt me… This was where I belonged… Forever and ever…   
“Are you okay?”, a cold voice cut through to me…

I violently shook my head… The vivid memories of my ghouls faded… Instead, a pair of shiny red eyes appeared in front of my face…

“Are you okay?”, the Judge repeated…

I stared at her… Too confused to say anything… My knees felt wobbly… But after a look at my now black feet, I knew that I was still standing and hadn’t left the sigil stone…  
“Are you okay?”, Elizabeth asked for the third time… But more desperate…

“Did I make it?”

“Yeah!”, Elizabeth smiled, “although it took quite a while to get you back to reality… Where were you?”

“I… I couldn’t bare the pain…”, I stuttered, “I was somewhere where none of this could hurt me…”

“Was it that bad?”, Elizabeth asked kindly…

I nodded my head…

“I knew that it would be painful”, Elizabeth said with a frail voice, “but not that bad… I’m so sorry…”

I looked at her… Saw the honesty in her face… But also fear... The both of us knew, that the worst part was still to come… I had withstood the pain… But would I manage to tame the forces that would soon be collimated within me? 

“You will do it!”, I suddenly heard a raspy voice speak…

“Omega!”, I whispered…

“We believe in you! Never forget that!”

Then, his voice broke off…

“How is this even possible!”, the Judge said in utter amazement, “how did he manage to get through to us?”

I stared into her pulsation red eyes: “Maybe, this all is different!”

The corners of her mouth twitched: “Maybe it is! Do you feel ready to continue?”

I shrugged my shoulders: “What use would it be to wait? To delay the necessity any further? Let’s risk it and get over with it!”

“Good luck!”

For the third time this night, well, who knew if it still was the same night, the Judge began with her dark chants… But this time, she wasn’t alone… After some time, she was joined by five low voices… One after another, the five sigil stones of the ghouls started to glow in a bright light… Omega’s was the first to emit a bright purple shine… The others soon followed… While mine remained shining in crimson… Once all stones were glowing, the Judge retrieved herself out of the circle formed by the five ghouls… Now, it was a thing between the five demons and me…

The intensity of the chants soon increased… The lines in the ground between the sigil stones of the ghouls began to glow dangerously… The red lines between them were changing… Red turned to crimson… Then, to an intense black light… 

For a long time, nothing happened but the chants… I turned from one ghoul to another… With their black cassocks and masks on, they almost looked identical except for their stature and the different color of the sigil stones…

After an endless amount of time, I noticed something different… A line in the ground connecting my sigil stone with one of the ghouls’, had come to life… Beginning to glow in a faint purple light close to the very stone Omega was standing upon… With eyes open wide, I stared at the growing and intensifying purple line in the ground as it was slowly making its way towards me… 

Meanwhile, Air’s words echoed through my head… Everything about the dangers of the substance that was coming closer and soon would enter my body… Quintessence… Highly unstable and even harder to control… I gulped heavily and tried to remain calm… Soon, I’d know a fraction of what Omega had to deal with on a daily basis… Every fraction of a second of his existence a struggle to keep the substance within him under control… Sadly, I couldn’t stop time and the bright purple light was coming closer and closer… None of the other lines had started to glow so far… I tried to stay calm, but the line was only a few centimeters away from me… 

And then, the quintessence merged with the sigil stone underneath me… The crimson turned darker… Now with a faint touch of violet… But nothing had happened… In relief, I exhaled deeply… 

But I had celebrated too early…

It caught me by surprise… I felt like being assaulted by the strongest and most vicious army… Like being caught and trapped by the strongest storms… Only that it was inside of me… A raw force seemed to be raging within me… I tried my best to control it… But the harder I reached out for it, the stronger it got… This was an impossible endeavor… Trying to domesticate the untamable beast… Even if this was only a fraction of what Omega had to deal with… This would tear me to pieces… 

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind… 

What had Omega said about controlling his inner demons?

I withdrew my mental hands, let the quintessence free range and tried to relax as best as I could… Tried to find a state of balance amongst all the raw energy in my system…   
Much to my surprise, the quintessence slowed down… Not much… But enough for me to not implode…

But much to my horror, I realized that a second line in the ground had begun to glow… A bright red light was on its way towards me… That was a surprise for me… Even though Fire was the lower element, Alpha was ahead of Air… 

Again, my eyes followed the approaching line in the ground while my subconsciousness wrestled with the quintessence… Then, it was there… Though much slower than previously… The red line was connected with my sigil stone, which again turned darker as the elements mixed… 

Like the first time, the effect of the fire element kicked in unexpectedly… The two powers seemed to fight inside me… But at the same time, they seemed oddly familiar with each other… Which was a good thing… Better not to have them fight inside me…

I tried my best to stay calm and relaxed… Let my subconsciousness try to tame these primordial forces… Trying to do it actively would lead nowhere… I somehow knew that…

I almost jumped when I realized how close the blue and the white line had become… They merged with my sigil stone almost simultaneously… Making it turn almost black… 

More and more forces flooded me… Almost impossible to tame since this time, they weren’t that familiar to each other than quintessence and fire had been to each other… They raged inside me… Trying to attack me in my weak moments… Somehow, I knew that only the shell of the soul that had merged with mine, was keeping my mind safe… At least for now… 

I needed to relax… Tried to keep my breathing under control… At least the sulphurous fumes and the infernal heat here, down below, weren’t hurting me anymore… Now, with all the sulphur in my body… 

I only hoped that Earth would take his time… I needed some time to get used to this situation before a fifth power would enter this dangerous game… 

But my prayers weren’t heard… Despite being the weakest ghoul of the five, the bright green light, that was shining so vividly in the dark, was dangerously close… Fractions of a second later, it had merged with my sigil stone… The already dark crystal underneath me turned pitch black… Now lacking every bit of color… A weird thought crossed my mind… Usually, the combination of all colors led to white light… In this case, the opposite had happened… But after all, we were in hell…

The fifth element kicked in with an unknown force… Earth, water, fire, air and quintessence were now raging within me… I tried my best to remain calm… But that was impossible… A few of the elements were tamable… But certainly not all together… My hands shoot up to my head as the five elements were attacking the stronghold that protected my mind…

But maybe these elements didn’t want to be controlled… Were untamable… Wanted to be free like my ghouls… 

I had done my job as best as I could… Had endured everything… The interrogation by the Judge… Elizabeth Báthory was her name… Had withstood the replacement of my entire human body with the toxic sulphur… Had let all five elements enter my body and mind… 

It seemed like my job was over… I had failed… I sank to my knees…

And then to blackness…


	74. Illusion...

I tried to open my eyes, but my body didn’t obey my commands… I felt numb… Dizzy… All I could do, was lying here and waiting for regaining control over my body… I felt tired… Done… Like I had just been runover by a truck… My body was aching… At least, I was lying on something soft… Oddly soft…

In the distance, I heard voices… But they were too far away to understand them… But they were coming closer… I heard a door open and an unknown male voice began to speak: “Thank you for coming! Here he is! He’s still unconscious… I know I have asked a lot…”

“It’s fine!”, a raspy voice interrupted the first speaker…

I smiled internally upon hearing that voice… I was in good hands… That was the only thing that mattered…

“Well, there was no one else to call, no papers to identify him, but luckily, one of our nurses remembered… You were the fastest and closest to reach...”, the first speaker continued…

“I’m glad that somebody remembered us”, a third bitter, yet familiar, male voice added, “after all that happened!”

“I’m sorry!”, the first speaker continued, “I know that things weren’t easy…”

“Weren’t easy!”, the third voice snorted, “that’s an understatement! You have no idea…”

“Stop it, man!”, the raspy voice interrupted him, “doctor, tell us what happened! Where did you find him?”

“Well”, the first speaker, the apparent doctor, continued, “two days ago, a pair of hikers found him in the forests south of Linköping. He was ranting… Completely out of his mind… He must have been wandering the forests for days regarding his clothes and general appearance… He was delusional… Probably because of dehydration… Thanks God, it isn’t winter! He would have died of hypothermia… The only thing, the hikers got out of him, was that he was searching for a hidden church deep inside the woods… He even showed them some maps… But here, as you can see, the papers he showed them were empty… Nothing but blank white sheets… Has he been delusional in the past, sir?”

I opened my eyes… For the first time, since I had regained consciousness, my eyelids had obeyed… Deep blue eyes stared at me… There wasn’t anything demonic about him… The scar on his upper lip was still there… His short dark blond hair still buzzed at the sides and combed to the left…The large silver rings still decorating his ring fingers… 

The presumable doctor showed me his back while he was interrogating my best friend… Meanwhile, a pair of icy blue eyes stared out of the window… The small little triangle tattooed behind his ear… A cap obscuring his baldness… Tattooed hands tightly clutching the windowsill…

“Doctor, I can’t tell you much since I haven’t had contact with him in a long time… Usually, we don’t talk about this…”, Omega’s raspy voice echoed through the room, “everything started once we received the Grammy… You know the American music award… The little golden gramophone… He lost grounding… Wanted more and more… Fame… Money… Affection… Only to name a few… The tours got longer and longer… He himself harder to deal with… We, his best friends of many years, weren’t good enough anymore… After all these years we sacrificed for his dream… For our dream…”

Omega’s voice had turned hoarse and broke eventually…

“I know, it’s a sensitive topic”, the doctor continued, “but can you tell me anything about his recent…”

“Like I said”, Omega interrupted him with a bitterness in his voice that broke my heart, “I haven’t seen him since July of 2016… Alpha here saw him for the last time in November of that same year… Almost two years have passed since… After we were kicked out, nobody stayed for long… He proofed too difficult to work with…”

“I still think it was stupid to come here!”, Alphas voice cut through the silence of the room, “after all that happened! We identified him… Can we go now?”

The doctor moved nervously from one feet to another: “Well, there is one problem…”

“Doctor, what do you want?”, Omega interrupted him…

“Ehhh… Well, there is nobody, absolutely nobody, we could reach to act as a guardian for him as long as he hasn’t regained consciousness and his sanity has been declared… Until then, he is alone… No family… No friends… And I don’t trust a cooperation or any sort of management to take responsibility for anyone… After all, he is still a human being… Not a good… I know, I’m asking a lot… But would you agree to act as his guardian for the time being… Except for you, he has nobody…”

“No!”, Alpha shouted and was about to storm out of the room…

But Omega stopped him… 

During this entire time, Omega’s deep blue eyes had remained focused on me: “We went through many ups and downs during our friendship… Through hell and back… But what he did in the end… Well, he should be ashamed of himself! Nobody treats friends like that! For that matter, it would be my only fair right to treat him equally! I would have every right to leave him here! All by himself! All alone! But doctor, like you said, we’re all human! I’m not like him! I have a soul… Compassion… I know he doesn’t deserve it, but he might learn of his mistakes… Although I doubt that! But maybe, just maybe, he proves me wrong!”

The deep blue orbits shot one last glance at me as he finished the last words… But after the syllables of his last words had faded, Omega stormed out of the room… Alpha and the doctor at his heals…

Anemic, I sank deeper in the cushions of the hospital bed… While one thought repeatedly flashed through my mind: “What had I done?”


	75. Rebirth...

I tried to open my eyes, but my body didn’t obey my commands… I felt numb… Dizzy… All I could do, was lying here and waiting for regaining control over my body… I felt tired… Done… Like I had just been runover by a truck… My body was aching… I was lying on something hard… 

In the distance, I heard voices… But they were too far away to understand them… But they were coming closer…

“You’re sure he made it?”, a voice asked…

“I know it didn’t look good for a long time… But if he would have failed, he would have imploded! And us with him!”, a raspy voice spoke, “I’m sure he made it! He, well, his system, only needs time to process everything, adjust and get back to a functioning state… That might take time… But he managed to deal with the five elements…For a very long time, I thought it would be impossible… Being very well aware of the burden that comes with it… The Judge always said the same… But luckily, he proved us different… He is stronger than we think!”

I felt fingers softly stroking over my cheek… 

“What if he doesn’t regain consciousness?”

“Don’t worry about that!”, the raspy voice chuckled, “I think he is awake!”

Tiredly, my eyes flicked open… Finally obeying… 

I was greeted by a warm and welcoming smile: “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Done…”, I answered with a hoarse voice, “tired… Drained… Hungry… How did I do? I’m not dead, right?”

I felt soft lips on my forehead: “Does that feel like you’re dead?”

“No… But how long have I been out?”

“Only a few hours…”

“What did happen after Earth’s element entered my body?”

Big blue eyes stared at me: “Your hands shoot up to your head and you started to scream…”

“What did I scream…”

“Our names… Over and over again… Then, you simply collapsed… The connection between hell and us broke… We rushed to your side and have remained there ever since… Do you think you can sit up?”

I nodded my head… The ground underneath me, the black sigil stone I was still lying upon, felt a bit cold, now that it was not connected with hell anymore… Several careful hands helped me up… 

“I’m so glad that you made it!”, I found myself in Omega’s big arms… I stared into the eyes of the four other ghouls and could find nothing but happiness and relief… The tall bulky ghoul let go of me and placed a passionate kiss on my lips: “I love you so much, Papa Emeritus! We have always believed in you and we will continue to do so!”

A whisper crossed my lips: “Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

And that was true… It was love that was keeping the five elements at peace… In balance… Somewhere in the back of my mind… Far away in my subconsciousness… 

Omega moved back… Alpha took his place immediately and presented me with a fierce kiss: “Thank you for making it! We owe you everyth…”

“Alpha, you owe me nothing! All I want, is your love! Nothing more!”

The fiery demon blushed: “I will give you my love! I cannot deny that I like what I see!”

“How do I look?”

“Absolutely stunning! Wanna see?”

“Show me!”

“Close your eyes!”

The next time I opened them, I stared at my own body out of Alpha’s perspective… I was still naked… But this time, the silver metal bars contrasted very starkly with the marmorean black of my skin… My whole body looked a lot more muscular and robust than before… A pitch black inverted cross surrounded by the five elements had been etched into the left side of my chest… I watched myself trace the lines… 

But what I wanted to see most, was my face… I somehow forced my body to look up… And was met by Alpha’s icy blue eyes that were currently mine… Much like the ghouls, the contours of my face had sharpened… The teeth elongated and spiky… The black tongue split… My usual brown hair had turned black… Bye, bye hair dyeing… I had always hated that… From the right socket, a vivid green eye stared at me… A sight that I was used to…But the iris that glanced at me from the left socket was a complete different story… Nothing but a chilling creepy white with a black dot in the middle… 

I shook my head to dissolve the connection: “Is that normal?”

“I don’t know”, Alpha said…

“It’s said to be the trademark of someone like you!”, Air had pushed himself forward… But remained at his usual reserved distance…

“There we have it!”, Alpha said with a laugh…

The eyebrow over my white eye shot up: “Wait! You’re not stuttering!”

“Because you, my dear, are communication in the demonic language ever since you woke up!”, Alpha explained with a wide grin, “now, you’re truly one of us!”

“Is it my turn now?”, an impatient voice asked…

Alpha moved aside: “Sorry, Water!”

Water’s cheeks were red: “Why the hell did you tell the Judge that the piercings were my idea?”

“Because it is the truth… Well, she asked me, and I wasn’t lying…”, I tried to explain, “and she actually was pretty impressed!”

Water’s jaw had dropped: “Really?”

“I would never lie to you! And now give me that kiss I’m so desperately waiting for!”

The only one left was tiny Earth who stared at me with his big not so innocent eyes and eagerly rubbed his fingers: “Finally! You’re not safe anymore from my talking!”

I laughed: “About time!”

“Well, there is something that I wanted to tell you for a long time!”, Earth said with a wicked smile, “I didn’t steal your underwear and used it for decorating the hedges! That was Air because I turned his library into a mess… Apparently… I only misplaced a few books on the shelves because I keep messing up the order of the human alphabet! That wasn’t me! But I couldn’t tell you!”

Laughter filled the room as an embarrassed Air turned around to inspect an apparently fascinating pattern in on of the marble pillars… 

“Earth, luckily I got my underwear back… Although I’m lacking a pair now!”, I laughed…

“After that story, I remembered to bring some along!”, the tiny demon laughed and produced a bundle of clothes from out of nowhere… He offered me a hand: “Feel strong enough to get on your feet?”

“Yes! I think I only need to eat something and I will be fine! I’m starving!”, I said while accepting the hand… The tiny demon handed me the bundle of clothes… Skeptically, I eyed the bundle… But there was no need to worry…

“Earth!”, I said while pulling the demon in a tight hug, “you brought my favorite clothes! Fantastic!”

A few minutes later, I was dressed in my favorite tight and ripped black jeans, black boots, of course a striped shirt and my old leather jacket… The ghouls, too, had changed out of their black cassocks and were wearing human clothes… Although Alpha’s blue Hawaiian shirt with a silver pineapple print that so horrible clashed with his eyes was a completely different story… While I was changing, Omega tried to interrogate me about the transformation… But there was this noise distracting me…

“What’s that?”

“That’s my son banging against the door!”, Air answered…

My eyes shoot open wide upon hearing that… Linton had been waiting so long… Time to end that… Without thinking, I stormed towards the exit and somehow, well, with unhuman force, managed to rip the door open…

Mismatched eyes met mismatched eyes…

“You made it!”, Linton whispered in disbelief before throwing himself around me… 

I padded his back: “Yes, we made it!”

After a while, he let go of me… He looked tired… Had big bags under his eyes… He still hadn’t repaired his artificial red eye… His hair appeared longer and messily entangled… And the facial hair definitively appeared to be older than a three-day stubble and looked odd on him since he usually walked around with a clean shaved face… And he was still wearing the dusty, dirty, torn and bloody clothes he had on when the archangels had attacked us…

Air had the curtesy to point that out when father and son embraced each other, a lot more enthusiastic than usual: “Son, seriously! You didn’t leave here?”

“I stayed here the entire time! Our ways parted once! There is no way they’ll part twice!”

“How long?”

“About a week!”

My brows shoot up… It had taken that long?

I felt Omega’s elbow in my ribs: “Time works different down there! Different worlds and dimensions – different passages of time!”

“So, how did it go?”, Linton asked me while welcoming one ghoul after another… Although Water still seemed rather reluctant… Linton, and of course all five demons were eager to interrogate me about the transformation…

But I couldn’t concentrate: “Please, can that wait! I’m starving! I need to eat!”

I had never felt hunger like this…

“Of course!”, Omega said…

A thought crossed my mind: “Does that mean…”

“Yeah, human meat!”, Omega finished my thought, “that’s the only thing that will satiate your hunger… As far as I know, there is some left in the fridge… So, no need for digging…”

And without thinking, I simply disappeared… Only to fractions of a second later reappear in the kitchen… I looked down myself… Everything still seemed to be where it belonged… I could get used to this method of transportation… It was simply so practical…

“You know, that that was pretty fucking stupid!”, Omega, who had appeared next to me, snorted, as always the voice of reason, “that could have gone horribly wrong! Promise me to not do that again! You need to train properly before you can use your powers! You could have easily splintered yourself or ended up at the north pole! In your current state, that’s not a clever thing to do!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t think! I won’t do that again! But can we please eat now!”

“What do you want?”, Water, who together with the rest had just appeared in the kitchen and was standing closest to the fridge, asked, “elderly person with advanced dementia or juvenile car crash victim?”

He showed me two boxes… I hesitated…

“We can keep you company if that makes you more comfortable”, Omega offered sensing my indisposition, “we need to vitalize us anyway… Contacting hell, and especially for that grand amount of time, always talks its toll on us.”

“Then I’d like the minced meat!”

Alpha padded my back as I reached for the first chunk of meat: “Good choice! Definitively smells and looks better!”

I couldn’t care less as my now sharp teeth sank into the meat… My bad conscience faded fairly quickly… This was by far the best thing I had ever eaten… The taste was slightly sweet yet salty at the same time… The hunger disappeared while I was devouring that delicious piece of meat… The ghouls and Linton around me, too, were assuaging their hunger… Greedily, I reached out for the next portion…

But Omega stopped me: “That’s enough!”

“But I’m still hungry!”

“Are you really?”

“Actually not… But why can’t I have another? You always complain that I don’t eat enough…”

Omega looked up from the bone he was gnawing off: “With every other food, I wouldn’t have a problem giving you a second serving… But with human meat it’s a different story… The consumption is necessary for us to stay alive in the worlds of the living… But too much isn’t good either… It’s like a drug, a strong drug that does weird things with our bodies and mind, and once you’re hooked, it’s very hard to get back… Some get crazy while others start to attack people… Or even worse, begin consuming that stuff when it is still alive… If you consume too much… It’s better to restrict oneself… Just take a stock of yourself and try to determine, how you’re feeling!”

I watched as Omega’s strong teeth cracked the bone to get better access to its marrow… Meanwhile, I listened to my body… Like Omega had said, the hunger was gone… I felt much better now… Calmer… Pleased… But also slightly aroused… 

“Ahh!”, with a loud groan, Air wiped the blood from his face and inhaled deeply, “that was good! Now that we’re over with this, Earth, can we please try it?”

All eyes, all equally filled with surprise, had moved up to stare at the tall demon…

“I mean, come on, Earth!”, Air continued, “after all we’ve been through the last few days! Let’s give it another try! I don’t care what kind of role I’ll play as long as we will play! Are you coming?”

Air had pushed his chair back and offered the tiny demon his hand… Earth accepted with a wide grin…

“But you’re not demolishing the mansion, are you?”, Omega yelled after them as they were leaving the kitchen… But got no answer…

He looked at me: “Pray that it won’t happen this time!”

“It won’t!”, Water sighed while putting down the clean remnants of his meal, “things have changed! For the better!”

What was coming? I had no idea… The burning feeling in my stomach suppressed any clear thoughts but the most primordial feelings… 

“Linton!”, the shy demon continued, “if you promise to behave yourself and not treat my like you usually do with your puppets, I might give it a go! I want to be able to walk tomorrow morning! No scratches! No bruises! Just for the both of our pleasure! Is that possible?”

Linton’s jaw had dropped…

“What the hell is going on?”, I asked…

“Oh, that’s one of the side effects of the human meat!”, Omega’s ringed finger swirled through the air in a swift movement as to explain everything, “gets us in the mood!”

“Couldn’t you have said that earlier?”, something within me erupted, “I’ve been trying to quell my desires ever since I took the first bite!”

The others laughed…

Omega had raised his scar-streaked eyebrow in delight: “And what exactly is your desire?”

“To feel you inside of me!”

“Are you ready for that?”, Omega said with a sparkling smile, “well, I am! Alpha, do you want to join us? Or them?”

I saw the wheels in the fiery demon’s head spinning… So far, he had been left out… The clear disadvantage of an uneven number of partners to choose from… And now he was left with an even harder choice: Witness something rare or my first go with Omega…

Then I remembered something I seemed to have said ages ago: “Alpha, what did I tell you during my first visit here? You know after we walked up from the ritual hall and were lying in my bed? Before I kissed you for the first time?”

I had never seen the fire demon in a happier state: “Let’s get to your room, Papa Emeritus!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a journey this project has been! Originally, this was supposed to be just a short little story that somehow evolved into something much larger over the course of the last one and a half years. It took me through many ups and downs in real life concerning the developments of this band - especially the later! As a long time fan, the recent developments, particularly the lawsuit, made me really angry. You can see it the way you want to, but that's my view on TF and his apparent "Bathory-style-one-man-show". 
> 
> Ever since details of that matter came known to the public and how he treated his former colleagues and most importantly friends, I wanted to end this story "chapter 74: Illusion"-like... A not so happy end... You can interpret this chapter the way you want to: either that everything was just a dream or that Papa's powers were taken away because his inner demons, his greed for fame, proofed to be too strong to be tamed on a long turn, therefore reducing him to a mad-man with the ghouls being set free... 
> 
> But then again, I love the characters of this story so much, that it felt cruel to end the story this way... That's why there is more than just one end to this story... 
> 
> You decide! If you want to, you can leave your thoughts...
> 
> Thank you for being with me on this journey!
> 
>  
> 
> Originally, there was far more to tell, some of you may guess it correctly, but I'm not sure if I'll ever write that down...


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